Damages Included in “Pain and Suffering” in Mississippi
Pain and suffering refers to the physical pain and mental health effects you feel after someone else injures you through their careless or dangerous actions. It goes beyond medical bills or lost wages—it’s about how your injuries affect your daily life.
Your pain and suffering can include things like ongoing aches, trouble sleeping, anxiety, depression, or not being able to participate in or enjoy your favorite activities. Everyone experiences pain and suffering differently, so the impact varies from person to person. In a Southaven or Hernando personal injury case, pain and suffering damages compensate you for the real, personal toll an accident takes on your life.
What Are Some Examples of Pain and Suffering After an Accident?
Pain and suffering can show up in many different ways after an accident, such as ongoing pain that makes it hard to move around or take care of daily tasks. Depending on your injuries, simple things like walking, getting dressed, or playing with your kids can become painful or frustrating.
You might also deal with emotional struggles after an accident, like anxiety or depression, especially if your injury keeps you from working or doing the things you love. Some people relive the accident through nightmares or flashbacks, making it hard to sleep or feel safe. Others feel isolated because they can’t participate in social activities like they used to.
Is Emotional Distress the Same as Pain and Suffering?
Emotional distress is a part of pain and suffering, but they aren’t the same. Emotional distress focuses more on the mental effects of an accident—things like fear, anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress. So, while emotional distress falls under the larger category of pain and suffering, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.
Calculating the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages
Calculating compensation for your pain and suffering can be challenging because it’s intangible. For example, you can use your pay stubs, medical bills, and other records to estimate your financial losses from an accident, but there’s no corresponding documentation for your pain and suffering. This dilemma has led to two main ways to quantify your pain and suffering:
“Multiplier” vs. “Per Diem” Method
The multiplier method starts with your actual financial losses—like medical bills and lost wages—and multiplies that number by a factor between 1.5 and 5. The more severe and long-lasting your injuries are, the higher the multiplier. This method is often quick and easy to apply, but it doesn’t always reflect the full emotional impact of an injury. The multiplier method also assumes that your financial costs match the level of your suffering, which isn’t necessarily true.
The per diem method, on the other hand, assigns a daily dollar amount to your pain and suffering. That amount is then multiplied by how long your doctors expect your injuries to last. For example, if the value is $150 a day and your doctors expect you to deal with pain for 200 days, your total would be $30,000. This method can feel more personal, but it’s also more complicated to explain in court.
Proving Pain and Suffering
Proving many of your losses from an accident is a matter of finding the proper documents. For example, repair estimates for your car and your medical bills illustrate the accident’s financial toll.
It’s different with pain and suffering damages because, in many cases, there’s no direct proof. You and your personal injury attorney must find creative ways to demonstrate your pain and suffering.
Evidence Needed for Pain and Suffering
Your lawyer can help you find evidence to support your pain for pain and suffering damages. One powerful tool is a daily journal or diary. Writing down your pain levels, mood, sleep issues, and how your injuries affect daily activities can paint a clear picture of how your life has changed. For example, noting that you couldn’t lift your child, go for your daily walk, or sleep through the night helps show the ongoing toll of your injuries.
Your medical records are also crucial for proving your pain and suffering. These documents show your diagnoses, treatments, medications, and doctor visits. The more consistent and detailed your medical history, the stronger your case. These records prove you’re not just saying you’re in pain—you’ve sought help for it, even if the treatments have not been effective. It’s also a good idea to include notes from a mental health professional, as they can describe any mental health effects from the accident (anxiety, nightmares, PTSD, etc).
Similarly, photos or videos of your injuries, recovery process, or physical limitations can help you make your case, as visual evidence often hits harder than words alone. It can help judges, juries, or insurance companies see what you’ve been through.
Finally, statements from friends, family, or co-workers carry weight with an insurance company or court. These people can describe the changes they’ve seen in your behavior, mood, or abilities since the accident. Their outside perspective backs up what you’ve been saying all along. Together, these pieces of evidence build a solid foundation for your claim.
Recovering Intangible Damages As Part of Your Personal Injury Case in Southaven or Hernando
Pain and suffering damages compensate you for your intangible losses from an accident. You might think your intangible losses are minimal or don’t matter, but discount them. Any disruption to your normal life can take a toll, and you have the right to fair compensation for those losses.
Additional Expenses and Losses Commonly Suffered
Some less common losses in an accident that fall under your pain and suffering include:
- Loss of enjoyment of life – If you can no longer take part in hobbies, sports, or activities you once loved, that’s a genuine and painful loss.
- Loss of companionship – Your injury may affect your relationships, especially with a spouse or partner. You might struggle with intimacy or feel emotionally distant.
- Embarrassment or humiliation – Visible scars, burns, or changes to your appearance can make you feel self-conscious in public or social settings. This can be devastating for people whose appearance is critical for their job.
- Loss of independence – Relying on others for basic tasks like driving, bathing, or dressing can be emotionally draining.
Limits on Pain and Suffering Damages
Unfortunately, Mississippi lawmakers have placed caps on your non-economic damages in a personal injury case. Your non-economic damages include compensation for your pain and suffering, so it’s vital to understand how these caps may apply to your situation. It’s also critical to work with an attorney who can help you make a persuasive case and thoroughly document your pain and suffering.
Pain and Suffering Caps
Section 11-1-60 of the Mississippi Code is the law limiting your pain and suffering damages. The law says you can receive up to $1 million for your non-economic damages, including your pain and suffering. There’s a lower limit of $500,000 in medical malpractice cases.\
While it’s poor policy for state lawmakers to limit your compensation after a serious accident, it’s essential to remember that these caps apply only to your non-economic damages. They don’t affect your compensation for things like your medical bills, lost income, and reduced future earnings. A skilled and dedicated attorney can help you make a case for comprehensive compensation by collecting evidence showing the full extent of your losses.
Pure Comparative Fault May Reduce Pain and Suffering Damage Awards
There’s another state law that might affect your compensation for pain and suffering. Section 11-7-15 of the Mississippi Code contains the state’s comparative fault rule, which applies in situations where you might have contributed to an accident.
The good news about this law is that you can recover compensation even if you are partly to blame for an accident. Unless you are fully responsible for the accident, you have the right to compensation for your injuries.
The bad news is that being found partly liable for an accident can reduce your compensation, including your compensation for pain and suffering. If evidence shows you contributed to the accident, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
For example, suppose your losses from an accident total $200,000. If evidence shows you’re 25 percent liable for the accident, you would lose 25 percent of your compensation. In this example, that’s $50,000.
You can expect an insurance company to try to blame you for an accident to reduce your claim amount. However, you don’t have to accept an insurance company’s offer. Your lawyer can gather evidence to support your case and push back against attempts to minimize your compensation.
Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering in Mississippi?
You can sue for pain and suffering in Mississippi if you can prove it. You’ll need compelling evidence to support your claim, and you must act quickly to guard your rights.
The Time to Seek Pain and Suffering Damages Is Limited
You usually have three years after an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. That long deadline might make you think you can wait to talk to a lawyer, but that’s a mistake.
For one thing, critical evidence can disappear or deteriorate within days or weeks of an accident. Calling a personal injury lawyer right away means they can preserve evidence before anything happens to it.
Furthermore, you want to give your attorney ample time to build a strong case. Rushing to meet a deadline might mean your lawyer makes a mistake or doesn’t have enough time to investigate, which could jeopardize your claim.
Can I Sue for Pain and Suffering After a Workplace Injury?
You can sue someone for pain and suffering around a workplace injury. A personal injury lawsuit is your only chance to recover compensation for your pain and suffering, as workers’ compensation benefits don’t cover it. You can’t sue your employer (in most cases), but you can sue someone else who contributed to your injuries.
For instance, suppose you suffer a severe electric shock at your job because of defective equipment. In this scenario, you could sue the manufacturer for your pain and suffering (and other losses). Many people experience severe pain and suffering from workplace injuries, and a Mississippi work injury lawyer can help you seek justice and fair compensation.
How an Attorney Can Help You Maximize Your Pain and Suffering Awards
The first step in recovering compensation for your pain and suffering is to find evidence to demonstrate it. We can compile your medical records, notes from your therapist, testimony from your family and friends, and help you start a journal to demonstrate the intangible effects of an accident.
We’re also skilled negotiators and can handle all communication with the insurance companies. We’ll make sure you don’t say or do anything that might hurt your claim and review any proposed settlements to make sure they’re fair. If an insurer tries to blame you for your injuries and reduce your compensation under the Mississippi comparative fault rule, we’ll be ready to push back.
Lastly, our attorneys can take your case to trial if necessary. We know how to persuade judges or juries, and we can counter any arguments from the other side to reduce your compensation.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Southaven & Hernando, MS
Our Northern Mississippi injury attorneys understand how pain and suffering affect your life, even if others are skeptical. Let our team defend your rights and fight on your behalf for a fair settlement. Call Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman now or complete our contact form for a free case evaluation.
Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman helps those who have suffered a personal injury throughout North Mississippi, including the cities of Southaven and Hernando, as well as the counties of DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica.
