Medical bills are easy to calculate. Lost wages? Those come with pay stubs. But how do you put a price on chronic pain that keeps you awake at night? What's the dollar value of missing your daughter's soccer games because you can't sit on bleachers anymore? That's where pain and suffering damages come in. They're often the largest part of a personal injury settlement, yet they're also the hardest to understand.
What Pain And Suffering Damages Cover
Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that don't show up on a hospital invoice. You won't find them itemized on a repair estimate. These damages typically include:
- Physical pain and discomfort from your injuries
- Emotional distress, anxiety, or depression following the accident
- Loss of enjoyment of life and inability to participate in activities you once loved
- Disfigurement or permanent scarring
- Loss of consortium or companionship
The tricky part? Every person's suffering is different. Your experience with a herniated disc isn't the same as someone else's, even if the medical diagnosis looks identical on paper.
How Ohio Courts Calculate These Damages
There's no calculator for this. Ohio doesn't use rigid formulas like some states do. Juries look at the specific facts of your case. The severity of your injuries matters tremendously. A broken wrist that heals in six weeks deserves compensation, but it's valued differently than nerve damage that causes permanent loss of feeling in your hand. How long will you suffer? That question shapes everything. Temporary pain has one value. Lifelong chronic pain is an entirely different conversation. Your age factors in too. A 25-year-old construction worker who can't return to physical labor faces decades of impact. The calculation changes based on how your injury reshapes your future, not just your present.
The Role Of Medical Documentation
Your medical records tell the story of your pain. Without detailed documentation from doctors showing the extent of your injuries, your claim becomes much harder to prove. Insurance companies love gaps in treatment. They'll argue that if you weren't seeing doctors regularly, you couldn't have been hurting that badly. It's a cynical argument, but it works in their favor. Following through with every appointment, every therapy session, and every follow-up matters. Not just for your recovery. For your case. A Dublin personal injury lawyer can review your medical records and identify what strengthens your claim for non-economic damages.
Ohio's Damage Caps And Limitations
Ohio does limit non-economic damages in most cases. According to Ohio Revised Code Section 2315.18, there's a cap that gets adjusted periodically for inflation, but exceptions exist. The caps don't apply if you've suffered permanent and substantial physical deformity. They don't apply if you've lost a limb. And they don't apply if you have a permanent physical functional injury that prevents you from caring for yourself independently. Medical malpractice cases operate under different caps entirely. The rules change depending on the type of case you're bringing.
Economic Damages Influence Non-Economic Awards
Your medical bills and lost wages provide a starting point. Adjusters and juries often use your economic losses as a baseline for calculating what your pain and suffering is worth. Higher medical expenses usually signal more severe injuries. If you underwent three surgeries, spent a month in the hospital, and needed six months of physical therapy, that treatment history tells a story about the pain you endured. Your economic losses paint the picture. They give context to the suffering that can't be billed or invoiced.
The Insurance Company's Perspective
Insurance adjusters approach pain and suffering claims with deep skepticism. They have to. It's their job to pay out as little as possible. They'll dig through your social media looking for photos of you smiling at a family gathering. Never mind that you were in pain the entire time or that you left after 20 minutes. They'll use that photo to argue you're exaggerating.
Some companies hire private investigators. They'll follow you to document activities that supposedly contradict your injury claims. It feels invasive because it is. This is exactly why legal representation from Brenner Law Offices makes such a difference. An attorney knows what insurance companies look for and how to counter their tactics effectively.
Building A Strong Case For Maximum Compensation
Documentation wins cases. Start keeping a daily journal about your pain levels, what activities you can't do anymore, and how the injury affects your mood and relationships. Your spouse sees the difference. Your kids notice when you can't play with them like you used to. Your friends recognize you're not showing up to events anymore. Their testimony carries weight because they witnessed your life before and after the accident. Your treating doctors provide professional opinions about your prognosis. Will this pain last six months? Five years? Forever? Their medical expertise gives your suffering credibility that's hard for insurance companies to dismiss.
Moving Forward With Your Claim
Pain and suffering aren't abstract legal concepts. They're real losses that have genuinely affected your quality of life. You deserve compensation that reflects the full impact of your injuries, not just the parts that came with a receipt. Don't let an insurance company convince you that non-economic damages are somehow frivolous or inflated. They're not. They acknowledge that being injured costs you more than money. If you've been hurt in an accident, a qualified Dublin personal injury lawyer can properly evaluate what your pain and suffering is worth, build a compelling case with the right evidence, and negotiate for the full compensation you're entitled to receive.