If you’ve been seriously hurt in a Mississippi car accident, you’re probably dealing with a lot of challenges as you struggle to pay for medical care and heal from your injuries. You may also be dealing with financial challenges due to lost income because you’re not able to work while you get better.
There’s no doubt that the financial costs of your car accident injuries are immense, and many car accident victims can pursue financial claims to recover these costs from the party at fault for their injuries. If you’re like most accident victims, however, you’re probably dealing with intangible damages relating to emotional and physical pain and suffering.
Pursuing damages relating to pain and suffering
Emotional and physical pain and suffering are different from medical bills which have a clear and calculable dollar amount associated with them. In this respect, pain and suffering relate to “noneconomic damages” or “intangible damages.” Noneconomic damages caused by a vehicle accident may include:
- Loss of consortium: This relates to various tangible and intangible benefits that spouses lose after one of them gets hurt in an accident.
- Loss of companionship: Spouses may not be able to enjoy intimate relations or the same kind of activities together after a serious accident.
- Disfigurement: Disfigurement can have numerous emotional effects on someone as they face scrutiny, discrimination and other challenges in the world.
- Decreased lifespan: In some cases, a seriously injured person could experience a decreased life expectancy.
- Impairment: Impairment and disability lead to numerous psychological and emotional hurdles that car accident victims must learn to support in their lives.
- Emotional distress and mental anguish: The stresses related to healing and getting better after a serious car accident can take their toll on an accident victim.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Many accident victims can’t enjoy their favorite physical activities anymore.
- Loss of reputation: Someone who was once known for his or her physical vigor or positive attitude, could lose this reputation after an accident changes him or her forever.
- Pain and suffering: Even after stabilizing their health conditions, many accident victims deal with lifelong pain and suffering from wounds that never heal.
Find out if you can pursue pain and suffering damages in your case
In most car accident injury cases, plaintiffs will be interested in pursuing claims for intangible damages like pain and suffering. Whether the plaintiff will be able to prevail in such claims, however, will depend on the unique facts and circumstances of their accident and injuries.
