Most accidents inflict a psychological scar on the victim, which manifests itself in the form of panic attacks, anxiety, sadness, trauma, fright, horror, disability, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), depression, nervousness, humiliation, shock, or loss of enjoyment in life, etc. These conditions are not physically visible to the jury or the defendant’s lawyer. In certain cases, the victim does not suffer significant physical injury in a car accident, but is tormented by mental anguish.
Proving mental or emotional suffering and claiming for such damages is a tricky job in the Utah courts – and only an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer can provide clinching evidence for the mental suffering that the victim is undergoing. In a pain and suffering settlement, this is how attorneys in Utah prove the accident-inflicted mental trauma and anguish in the victim. (Note that the damages claimed for pain and suffering fall in the non-economic damages category.)
- They obtain medical experts’ opinions and testimonies on how the accident has emotionally scarred the victim and what could be the long-term repercussions on his mental health.
- They also present evidence (bills and diagnosis) of the victim’s current psychological treatment necessitated after the accident.
- The victim’s personal testimony also helps establish emotional trauma to some extent.
- In any pain and suffering settlement in Utah, evidence is gathered from friends, family, employer, and colleagues to demonstrate how the victim’s ability to work, lead his daily life, and interact socially has changed after the accident.
- The lawyer has to dig deep into the accident and even analyze how the defendant conducted himself after the event. Was the defendant reckless before and after the accident? Was he abusive? Did he resort to violence? Did his conduct aggravate the victim’s emotional trauma in any way? Was the wrongdoing intentional? Did the defendant know or realize that the victim could suffer because of his aggressive conduct? Did the defendant not give any thought to how his conduct would impact the victim?Any conduct that is not considered decent by societal standards is considered abusive. The law does not require the conduct to be evil – there’s sufficient cause if the conduct was outrageous.It’s not an easy task to analyze the defendant’s conduct many days after the accident, only an experienced attorney can flesh out the evidence and prove that it damaged the victim’s psyche.
- To prove emotional distress in a pain and suffering settlement, attorneys in Utah also examine the possibility of the defendant inflicting mental anguish intentionally. Some examples: the defendant driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, getting physically violent, or using excessive force.
- In some cases that we have successfully handled, the victim’s physical injuries were negligible, but his emotional distress was so great that it impacted his earning and social-interacting capacities. While negotiating the pain and suffering settlement, we had to rely on the testimonies of two medical experts –from the current doctor, and another specialist who confirmed the diagnosis. Plus, we topped it off with a financial expert’s testimony.
- If there is a loss of companionship after the accident, the attorney typically ties it up with the event and includes it as non-economic damage.
It’s not an easy task to put a dollar amount to mental and emotional distress in a pain and injury settlement. These are subjective damages that are estimated differently by the opposing lawyers and especially by the insurance companies. You need a Utah-based attorney who has the skill, experience, knowledge, resources, negotiating powers, and a successful track record in resolving personal injury claims in a pain and suffering settlement.
If you would like to meet with such a lawyer – and for free – we urge you to take advantage of our free meeting offer:
FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident and would like to know more about the time and monetary limits on claiming damages in a pain and suffering settlement in Utah, we urge you to take full advantage of our free initial consultation offer and schedule a meeting.
This is a no-pressure, no-obligation, free meeting in which you will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your case, comparative fault percentage, if you were at fault, and our senior personal injury lawyer’s opinion about your case.
You have nothing to lose in meeting us – and we assure you that you will emerge as a more informed and savvy litigant post the meeting.
We urge you to go ahead and schedule the free meeting.
After all, it’s just a phone call or a click away.
