What are Pain and Suffering Damages?
Your pain and suffering damages are losses that you suffered because of your injury at the hands of the defendant. In California, these include the following:
- Past and future physical pain
- Past and future mental suffering
- Past and future loss of the enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement
- Physical impairment
- Grief
- Humiliation
- Anxiety
- Emotional distress
Your pain and suffering damages are losses that you have suffered that are more intangible, making them more difficult to calculate.
California Civil Jury Instruction 3905A indicates that there is not a set standard for the calculation of pain and suffering damages in the state. Juries are instructed to use their common sense to determine reasonable amounts that are based on the evidence. This makes it vital for you to present clear, easily understandable evidence of the pain and suffering that you have suffered.