What is Pain and Suffering?
Pain and Suffering is a legal term that describes the physical, emotional, and mental injuries a personal injury victim sustained following an accident.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, pain and suffering is defined as “physical discomfort, emotional trauma, or mental anguish that a plaintiff experiences as a result of a defendant’s actions.” As such, it often refers to the non-economic damages that a plaintiff may claim to compensate for the physical pain, emotional anguish, and diminished quality of life caused by the defendant’s actions or negligence.
Pain and suffering can include physical pain or emotional distress. For example: Amy is in a car accident because the other driver drove recklessly. As a result of the accident Amy might suffer from back problems and have a panic attack every time she tries to drive a car. Therefore, not only could Amy sue the other driver for the damage to her car, but also for the pain and suffering it has caused her physical and emotional health. Pain and suffering is aimed at providing compensation to injuried parties, and to have those at fault recognize the harm they caused and deter them from repeating their actions. Understanding pain and suffering is essential in personal injury litigation to ensure that plaintiffs receive fair and just compensation for the full scope of their injuries and losses.
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IL Family Wins $36 Million in Fiery Train Derailment Lawsuit
A Rockford, Illinois family will receive $36 million from the Canadian National Railway Company after the wife and mother died as a result of a train derailment near Rockford in June 2009. The woman’s husband and daughter were both seriously injured in the fiery explosion.
The family was sitting at the railroad crossing when 18 of the 114 cars of the train, which were carrying over 2 million gallons of ethanol, derailed and erupted in flames. The family car became engulfed in flames. The woman died as she ran from the car trying to escape the fire. The daughter, who was 19-years-old and pregnant at the time, suffered serious burns and lost her baby.
The family’s lawyer found that the train’s engineer had been warned that the track was washed out in the direction he was heading. However, instead of stopping the train, the engineer apparently sped up in hopes of maneuvering the tracks. […]
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Kentucky Woman Awarded Over $800,000 in Tractor-Trailer Crash
A Kentucky woman was awarded more than $800,000 by a Vanderburgh Superior Court jury for injuries she suffered in a 2008 vehicle accident with a Fat Boys Trucking semi. The tractor-trailer driver was cited for disregarding a traffic signal after he ran a red light at U.S. 41 and Indiana 57 in Evansville, KY and struck the woman’s van.
The woman has been unable to work since suffering knee and shoulder injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident, according to her lawyer. The lawsuit was filed seeking compensatory damages against the trucking company.
The woman was traveling westbound on Indiana 57 attempting to turn south onto U.S. 41. when her Dodge Caravan was struck by the semi as it came through the traffic light. The woman’s van then went to the left, overturning on its side. The truck was hauling over 100 cattle from Kentucky to Kansas. […]
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GA Men’s Club to Pay $1.75 Million for Over-Serving Alcohol Leading to Deadly Crash
The family of a woman who was killed in a vehicle accident with a drunk driver, who had just left a men’s club in Conley, GA, outside Atlanta, will receive $1.75 million from the club. The driver had a blood alcohol content of .398, nearly 5 times over the legal limit, at the time of the accident.
The drunk driver was driving his Lincoln Town Car the wrong way on I-20 eastbound in July 2008 and slammed head-on into the victim’s car. Both drivers died at the scene of the accident. A passenger in the woman’s car died enroute to the local hospital.
The lawsuit alleged that Club Blaze should have known the man was intoxicated and should have stopped serving him. The jury found that the club over-served alcohol to the man.
If you have been injured or a loved one killed in a vehicle accident that was caused by another person’s carelessness or recklessness, […]
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Nebraska County Found Liable for Accident Due to Poor Signage
A Nebraska jury awarded a 24-year-old Michigan man $407,000 to be paid by Furnas County, Nebraska for the county’s failure to adequately mark a sharp turn in a road where the man crashed his car leaving him with significant injuries.
The judge in the case found the man 40% liable and the county 60% liable. This reduced the amount of the original award of $678,000 for the county. The man was not wearing a seatbelt and was speeding at the time of the accident. The judge ruled that the signage at the accident site could not be seen at night, and it was placed too close to the 90-degree turn, giving drivers inadequate time to react.
The accident occurred in December 2007, when the man missed the turn and drove off the road causing his car to flip, trapping in the car for hours. He suffered spinal cord damage requiring multiple surgeries and weeks of hospitalization. […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – Three Die in NY Head-on Collision
Ford Explorer drifts into oncoming lane causing fatal head-on car accident
Three Die in New York Accident
A head-on collision Monday morning between a Ford Explorer and a GMC Jimmy near Bethel, New York killed three people and injured one. According to police, the Ford Explorer carrying two passengers, was heading east on 17B between White Lake and Fosterdale and drifted into the west bound lanes colliding with the GMC. The driver of the GMC was wearing his seat belt and his airbag deployed, but he was pinned in the vehicle and died at the scene. The driver of the Explorer and a back seat passenger, neither of which were wearing their seatbelts, were both ejected and died at the scene. The front seat passenger was wearing his seatbelt and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
NY Man Arrested for Vehicular Manslaughter After Accident
A Freeport, […]
