Pain and Suffering

Most people do not fully understand what pain and suffering means until they are forced to go down the path and deal with it head on during an unfortunate accident. Most believe that pain and suffering is only caused by the physical injury but unfortunately the mental damage is also a cause.

Pain and suffering is the physical pain one suffers due to an accident and the hardships the person will deal with during and after recovery. 

Pain is mostly caused by a physical injury such as a broken bone, but depression and anxiety also causes physical pain as well.

Symptoms of depression, anxiety, Post-traumatic stress disorder are

• - Rapid heartbeat
• - Fatigue, headaches
• - Hot flashes
• - Difficulty breathing
• - Abdominal pain
• - Sweating
• - Changes in eating habits  

Causes

These conditions can be caused by a traumatic experience such as a car accident or work related injury. This can lead to many future issues. Pain can affect a person's overall quality of life; not only at their job, but also in their personal life. This can lead to a lowered self-esteem and cause depression. Flashbacks or other PTSD symptoms can restrict a person from performing everyday task because of fear of triggering a memory or emotion. Anxiety attacks can have the same issues. Pain medications can cause a list of additional issues including but not limited to dependencies and additional physical symptoms. 

Suffering

Now, where does the suffering come in and what does it actually mean? Suffering is the hardship that comes from the pain that is caused by the accident.

Can the victim work normally? 

Can the victim participate in his/her normal hobbies/activities?

Will the victim be able to perform normal activities of daily living?

These example questions are areas that pain can target and create hardships leaving the victim to suffer. Suffering the inability to work, losing a beloved hobby, or having to depend on others to care for you or a loved one is difficult.  Some people have gone to college or have worked in a field for many years and after an injury due to an accident have to completely change careers. Starting all over is a huge hardship. 

Knowing your rights and what you or your loved one is entitled to is very important to us here at Smiley Law. We want to make sure that your hardships are a little less hard to deal with in the end. Contact us and speak with one of our Attorneys so we can assist you with your legal needs.