Abel Law Offices personal injury attorneys represent personal injury victims throughout Southern California including Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties. Los Angeles, California is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world; and, Los Angeles has its fair share of people who sustain personal injury by the negligence of another. There are common questions asked by those who been injured by the negligence of another. This post is the first in a series of posts that will address common questions asked.
Q. What does pain and suffering damages mean?
A. California has divided damages into two types - economic and non-economic. Economic damages covers out-of-pocket expenses such as medical expenses incurred for treatment and prescriptions and also lost wages. The other type of damage that may be recovered is non-economic damage. Non-economic damage includes pain and suffering experienced by the injured person.
Pain and suffering refers to the injured person's physical and emotional injuries. Pain can be physical or mental. Emotional injuries include such common emotions such as anger, frustration, humiliation, irritability, anxiety, fear, and worry.
If a personal injury case goes to trial, and the injured person established liability, then a judge or a jury will evaluate the pain and suffering the injured victim suffered. Once this is evaluated, the judge or the jury will award money to compensate the injured person for his or her pain and suffering.
