What is Pain and Suffering?
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I was recently reading an online newspaper article about a young girl that lost a leg in a bicycle/car accident. Several people posted some comments about tort reform and pain and suffering. The comments centered around the fact that they thought she received too much money. A few commentators even said they would give up a leg for such an award. Amazing.
We here in Missouri had tort reform passed at the request of the insurance industry and the medical industry in 2005. The idea professed at the time by the insurance industry lobby, was that large damage awards for pain and suffering were unfair and were driving costs up for everyone. It passed, however strangely my premiums have not gone down. Have yours? Hopefully the next Governor will work to overturn this injustice.
The polite term those that try to limit your rights to compensation use is “non-economic damages” instead of pain and suffering. Non-economic has a more clinical and sterile tone than pain and suffering, but what is pain and suffering? The Black’s Law Dictionary definition of pain and suffering is the “[t]erm used to describe not only physical discomfort and distress but also mental and emotional trauma. . . . .”
All that is true but the more accurate definition in my opinion is: how has this motor vehicle accident or semi truck crash impacted your quality of life? Quality of life is a pretty broad statement, but it defines the little things that make life enjoyable. Maybe for you it is bending over to pick up a grandchild or maybe it is fishing or running a marathon or riding your bicycle or working in your garden. Now imagine that you can’t do those things you enjoy anymore. Not by your choice, but rather told by someone else. Now imagine being told that your quality of life isn’t worth much.
We also represent the surviving families of victims of fatal car crashes, semi truck accidents, or other negligence cases throughout Missouri. Our experience with wrongful death litigation will help ensure that your family receives the caring client service you need through a difficult period of grief and transition
