CAN I GET PAIN AND SUFFERING DAMAGES FOR MY CAR ACCIDENT?

Pennsylvania laws regarding motor vehicle insurance are like making a deal with the devil. The decisions you make when buying car insurance could have lasting repercussions for the rest of your life. Basically, consumers face two choices when purchasing car insurance: full tort insurance and limited tort insurance. Tort is a fancy legal term that refers to a wrongful or negligent act. Essentially, when motorists choose to purchase full tort car insurance they are also buying the right to sue for additional damages if they are injured in a car accident. Alternatively, motorists purchasing limited tort car insurance are barred from suing wrongful or negligent parties for their pain and suffering.

This can be important to you for several reasons, but especially if you have experienced additional adverse effects after your car accident. A good example of this might be the humiliation or embarrassment you may feel as a result of a limb that required amputation after your accident. Or perhaps the burns and scarring you suffered from your car accident has caused you to stay at home all of the time, frozen with anxiety about going out in public.

Another type of so-called “noneconomic loss” is known as a loss of consortium. Basically this type of damage centers on how your spouse or children might have been affected by your accident. For example, your children may have lost the guidance and tutelage that you were able to provide them prior to your car accident. Another example might be a husband’s loss of love and affection after his wife suffered a brain injury that permanently altered her personality.

One of the largest obstacles victims of pain and suffering face when seeking damages is proving that their ailments have negatively impacted their lives. Injuries involving pain and suffering are not readily apparent to a casual observer. Furthermore, pain and suffering can also be sometimes difficult to measure using normal scientific methods. That’s why retaining an experienced Pennsylvania car accident attorney can be beneficial to your case. For example, an attorney can put experts on the stand that can testify about the types of pain and suffering you are currently experiencing. If successful, it’s possible that a jury might award you a fair compensation for the mental anguish and physical pain you have endured.

Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, “Section 1705. Election of tort options. Financial responsibility requirements.,” accessed July 10, 2015