A serious accident in Las Vegas can impact you in many ways. One possibility is suffering from chronic pain from your injuries. Chronic pain can be a constant battle that decreases your quality of life and interferes with daily activities. Knowing how an insurance company or courtroom will determine the monetary value of chronic pain in a Las Vegas personal injury claim can help you maximize your financial recovery.
What Is Chronic Pain?
In medical terms, chronic pain refers to sensations of pain that last longer than three months. It can describe constant or continuous pain or intermittent bouts of pain. Chronic pain can occur as an outcome of a physical injury, such as a back injury that permanently damages the nerves around the spinal cord.
Chronic pain can wear down a victim physically and emotionally, resulting in depression, trouble sleeping, and anxiety. Depending on the level of pain experienced, it can interfere with the victim’s ability to work, earn a living, participate in favorite hobbies, enjoy time with loved ones, and complete daily chores and activities.
About Pain and Suffering Damages in a Las Vegas Personal Injury Claim
Chronic pain will fall under the category of “pain and suffering damages” in a personal injury claim in Nevada. When someone else’s negligence results in harm to others, the injured victim has the right to seek financial compensation to become whole again. Both economic and non-economic damages are available to award a plaintiff or injured party.
Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage award specifically granted to pay a victim for the physical pain and emotional distress suffered because of an accident or injury. This can include chronic pain, if this is something a victim experiences in the aftermath of an accident. The value of this type of damage award will depend on the situation.
Common Calculation Methods
When insurance companies and juries calculate economic damages, they simply rely on hard numbers from the victim’s bills and receipts. When it comes to non-economic damages for chronic pain, however, the process is different.
Although no specific calculation method is required (and insurance companies often use their own calculators), two methods are most commonly used:
- Multiplier Method. The amount of the victim’s economic damages is multiplied by a number from 1.5 to 5 based on the severity of the chronic pain.
- Per Diem Method. A value (often equivalent to the victim’s daily wage) is assigned to each day that the victim will ostensibly suffer chronic pain.
The first method is most common when a victim’s pain and suffering are likely to last indefinitely. The key factor involved in valuating chronic pain is severity. If the amount of pain is severe, the value of the settlement or jury verdict awarded is typically higher than with a lesser amount of pain.
How Can I Strengthen My Chronic Pain Claim?
Proof of chronic pain is crucial if you wish to make a fair financial recovery for this loss during a Nevada personal injury claim. It will be necessary for you or your personal injury attorney in Las Vegas to demonstrate the profound impact the chronic pain has had on your life.
Working with a Las Vegas personal injury attorney can make it easier to prove your case, as your lawyer can search for and collect evidence in your favor. You can also improve the value of your claim on your own by taking the right steps.
If you are experiencing emotional or psychological impacts due to chronic pain, seek professional help. This is important for your mental health as well as creating a paper trail to prove this type of pain and suffering.
Additionally, contact a personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas. The right attorney can craft a narrative around your evidence to highlight how chronic pain has altered your life, health, and mental state. Since chronic pain is a subjective loss, compelling storytelling can make a major difference to the amount awarded for this type of damage.