In personal injury claims, pain and suffering damages are awarded to compensate people for pain, stress, anxiety, and other emotional or psychological harm caused because of an accident or injury. The assessment of pain and suffering damages is different for each claim because the circumstances of each injury victim are different before the accident, and injuries impact everyone differently.

If you are a victim of any personal injury, call Halifax personal injury lawyer NOVA Injury Law for a FREE CASE REVIEW at 1-800-262-8104

Physical Injuries

Physical injuries often take away from a person’s ability to do or enjoy what they did before the accident. People may have trouble engaging in activities with their children, participating in hobbies, or working on their passion project. Some injury victims lose their abilities completely, but most people end up pushing through pain to do the things they used to love, usually with much less frequency than before. These impacts fall under the umbrella of “pain and suffering”

Psychological Injuries

Psychological injuries can also hold people back from various opportunities or activities; whether those be at work, in their free time activities, or in their relationships. Many injury victims suffer setbacks in their mental health, self-confidence, or have increased anxiety or depression. These impacts on quality of life also fall under what’s known as “pain and suffering” Those with cognitive injuries, and the associated impact on their level of function, may also have their relationships impacted and deal with daily struggles doing the activities they took for granted before the accident happened.

Pain and suffering damages are supposed to reflect the losses felt by personal injury victims. A great personal injury lawyer must take the time to know their client and consider how each aspect of their life is impacted now and in the future. No personal injury claim can undo all the harm and loss caused. The intent of the personal injury claim is to restore with money, as much as possible, what has been lost. There is no fixed amount to compensate someone for the pain of never having the same level of function that they had before, or to cope with the reality that they are limited by pain every day. But, it’s up to lawyers like me to assign a dollar amount to that personal loss experience. I have to get it right, or my client will be left short – under-compensated for what they will have to go through down the road.

What is Pain and Suffering Damage Compensation in Canada?

Unlike our neighbors to the south, we don’t see million-dollar awards for pain and suffering in Canada. In 1978, the Supreme Court of Canada set the maximum amount someone can receive in pain and suffering damages at $100,000. Since then, the limit has been adjusted for inflation and now sits at about $350,000.

Once we’ve reviewed medical records and claim materials, we use past cases and experience to determine the value of pain and suffering damages a judge or jury might award. This doesn’t mean that the case is going to go to trial, but it is how lawyers assess the value of the claim.

What many personal injury victims forget about are the other types of damages available to them. In many cases, the other damages may be worth more than the court would award for pain and suffering. It’s my job to assess the claim broadly and consider all available heads of losses for each of my clients.

How Can NOVA Injruy Help?

The whole idea behind an injury claim is to reimburse people for their losses – and this is a wide-ranging task. To learn more about NOVA Injury Law’s approach to assessing how much pain and suffering damages are worth, contact us to book your free case review. During the free case review process, we’ll give you an honest opinion about your case, how much your personal injury claim might be worth, and what you should consider as your next steps. If you our someone you know has been hurt in a car accident, call NOVA Injury Law today for FREE CASE REVIEW at 1-800-262-8104