What constitutes pain and suffering in a personal injury lawsuit?
What constitutes pain and suffering in a personal injury lawsuit? Min Austria Assistant at Ascent Law LLC Pain and suffering is the most essential element to any personal injury claim, so it's important for people to know what it means. The term is pretty much self-explanatory; pain and suffering refers to the mental and physical trauma that results from an event that causes physical damage. There are two types of pain and suffering—general and special. General pain and suffering is what most people think of when they hear the term—the mental anguish caused by the accident or its aftermath, like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety. Special pain and suffering refers to physical damage caused by the incident, like medical bills and lost wages due to the injuries sustained. People can receive compensatory damages for their pain and suffering in addition to punitive damages. Compensatory damages are intended to cover losses such as medical expenses, future medical car...