An injury can have significant financial consequences for you and your family, leading to lost wages and mounting medical bills. When the injury is someone else’s fault, you can often seek compensation to help cover these financial strains.
An injury can also cause a heavy mental and emotional burden. Noneconomic damages can compensate you for this pain and suffering.
What are some examples of pain and suffering?
Pain and suffering can refer to a number of effects related to your injury, including mental anguish, loss of companionship, loss of enjoyment and embarrassment. These impacts are typically harder to quantify than medical expenses or lost income.
How much can you receive for pain and suffering?
For many personal injury cases, Massachusetts does not impose a limit on potential pain and suffering awards, though there is a $500,000 limit for most medical malpractice cases. Because Massachusetts uses modified comparative negligence, you may still be eligible to receive these damages even if you are partly at fault for the injury.
For motor vehicle collisions, you can only seek pain and suffering compensation if your economic costs from the accident exceed $2,000, though there are some exceptions to this rule when the accident causes death, loss of limb, disfigurement, or loss of eyesight or hearing.
For most personal injury cases, there is a three-year statute of limitations for noneconomic damages, though this time period increases to six years for claims associated with construction defects. You should consider taking action quickly to ensure you receive the compensation you need to feel whole again.
