St. Louis Truck Accident Pain & Suffering Damages

What Are Pain and Suffering Damages in a Truck Accident Case?

Commercial trucks are big. With the trailer attached, a semi-truck weighs up to 80,000 pounds, or about 20 times the size of a typical family vehicle. That massive size advantage means they cause tremendous damage in a collision. That damage can be expensive, too: repairing or replacing affected vehicles, paying for extensive medical care that can last for years or even a lifetime, and offsetting the cost of lost income while victims recuperate. However, what about the non-economic aspects of a serious injury?

The legal term for such losses is pain and suffering. It means the physical and emotional discomfort caused by serious injuries and the consequences they have on a victim’s life. In some cases, pain and suffering can account for the majority of the money an accident victim recovers through a personal injury lawsuit. However, how is pain and suffering calculated?

 

How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated After a Truck Accident in Missouri?

Physical pain and emotional suffering don’t come with price tags attached to them, which can make them challenging to quantify. When truck accident lawsuits go to trial, juries have broad latitude to determine an amount that seems fair to them based on the circumstances. However, when at-fault parties and victims seek to pursue a truck accident settlement out of court, they turn to formulas to approximate what might happen at trial, including how pain and suffering could be awarded.

The following are the two main ways to do so:

• Using the multiplier method, lawyers add up all the losses that do have a dollar value (medical bills, property damage, lost wages, etc.) and then choose a number between 1.5 and 5 to serve as the pain and suffering multiplier. A higher multiplier means more severe pain and suffering. They multiply the two numbers together to arrive at a final figure.
• In the per diem method, lawyers estimate how many days the pain and suffering will last, then agree on an amount that reflects the pain and suffering (often the value of a day’s wages). The victim gets paid that amount for each day they are expected to feel pain and suffering.

What Is the Difference Between Economic and Non-Economic Damages?

There are two primary types of truck accident damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages compensate a truck accident victim for the harm they’ve suffered that has an actual dollar value attached to it, such as the following:

• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Diminished earning potential
• Property damage, such as vehicle repair/replacement

On the other hand, non-economic damages in truck accident cases are those that are more subjective in nature, such as the following:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Reduced quality of life

Can You Claim Emotional Distress After a Truck Accident in St. Louis?

Emotional distress is a term that has different meanings in different contexts. For someone who’s injured in a truck accident, emotional distress describes the psychological consequences of having been in the accident, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This type of emotional distress is generally included within the overall recovery for pain and suffering.

However, there is a separate form of personal injury called negligent infliction of emotional distress (NEID) that applies to people who were not actually injured but suffered psychologically as a result of something they witnessed. A good example of NIED in this context is someone who is forced to witness a fatal truck accident that they were very nearly injured in as well.

Both claims can be pursued in Missouri, although NEID claims are more difficult to prove. An experienced attorney can advise you on whether you have such a claim.

What Factors Determine the Value of a Pain and Suffering Claim?

Many different factors go into determining the value of pain and suffering in a truck accident claim, including the following:

• The severity and type of injuries the victim suffered
• How long it will take the victim to physically recover, if they ever will
• Whether the victim has been diagnosed with conditions like anxiety, depression, or PTSD
• If the victim suffered a permanent disability or disfigurement
• Impact on daily activities and quality of life
• The effects of the injuries on the victim’s ability to work and participate in normal routines
• Whether the injury caused chronic pain or long-term limitations
• The victim’s need for ongoing medical treatment or therapy
• The age and overall health of the injured person at the time of the accident

Missouri’s comparative fault law may also be a factor in pain and suffering claims. Under this rule, a truck accident victim’s injury compensation (including for pain and suffering) is reduced in proportion to their share of fault.

Does Missouri Have a Cap on Pain and Suffering Damages?

While some states put a cap on how much money the victim of a truck accident can recover for pain and suffering, Missouri is not one of them. There is no cap on pain and suffering damages in Missouri.

How Do Attorneys Prove Pain and Suffering in a Truck Accident Case?

Pain and suffering is something of an “invisible injury.” A doctor can’t run diagnostic tests to prove that pain and suffering exist or to determine their extent. Instead, lawyers will need to gather evidence of the pain and suffering their client has endured and to quantify it in dollars in a truck accident claim. To do this, they may do the following:

• Use medical records to document the extent and duration of injuries
• Present testimony from doctors, therapists, and medical experts
• Furnish photographs and videos of the accident and its aftermath
• Provide testimony from family, friends, or coworkers about the lifestyle changes their client has gone through
• Work with psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or sleep problems
• Ask their client to keep a “pain journal” that describes their daily discomfort levels and ongoing frustrations with the healing process

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in Missouri and someone else is to blame for what happened, they should have to compensate you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured. Contact Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a truck accident lawyer in Missouri, and let us demand every dollar you deserve. There are no upfront costs for us to get started on your case, and you pay nothing unless we successfully resolve your matter.