Pain and Suffering

If you are injured in an accident (such as vehicle accident or workplace accident), Massachusetts law allows you to recover compensation for your pain and suffering as a result of your injuries.

While pain and suffering cannot be recovered in a workplace accident generally, a lump sum settlement can sometimes give additional compensation that the injured employee would not have received otherwise.

It's difficult to quantify pain and suffering. Contact a personal injury lawyer at the Bellotti Law Group P.C. to assist you in this procedure

Pain and suffering is considered a non-economic damage. This indicates that there isn't a set monetary amount to quantify the damage. An economic damage has a fixed cost associated with it, such as a medical expenditure. Damages for pain and suffering are difficult to quantify.

Some insurance companies and attorneys will assume that your pain and suffering damages are three times the amount of your medical expenditures. This figure is changed depending on the type of injury, the long-term repercussions, and the injury’s impact on your everyday life.

There is a general assumption that an injury is painful. Judges and juries are familiar with the concept of pain and suffering damages. Serious injuries that require a lengthy recovery period or surgery are likely to result in pain and suffering awards. To prove pain and suffering damages in a personal injury case, you may need to show evidence of the following:

• Medical documentation and invoices
• Prescription records
• Photographs of injuries
• Workplace documentation
• Testimony from family and friends to outline the impact of the damage they have observed

In pain and suffering cases, your testimony will be the most important resource available. Only you have experienced the suffering connected with your injury, so you must relate your story to prove your case.

The workers' compensation system is fault-free, which means workers do not have to prove that an employer/coworker caused the work-related injuries to receive benefits. These workers only need to show that their injury occurred while they were at work. Employers and insurers must then pay a part of the lost wages to injured workers. In return, the injured workers cannot sue their employers for personal injury. Thus, these workers must agree to forgo compensation for pain and suffering. It's crucial to understand the benefits and drawbacks of making a legal claim. An experienced attorney can help guide you on the best course of action for your case.

How Do I Get More Benefits Under the Worker’s Compensation System?

Since no compensation for pain and suffering is available, employees must make the most of the benefits provided by Massachusetts law. This is typically restricted to wage payment for income lost due to a workplace accident. If a worker is deemed permanently and fully disabled, they can get up to 66.67 percent of their gross average weekly salary, as well as the yearly cost of living increases. Benefits include:

• Medical expenditures
• Partial disability
• Temporary complete disability
• Permanent loss of function
• Scarring or deformity
• Vocational rehabilitation
• Death/survivor benefits
• Mileage, parking for treatment

The only other monetary reward provided is for permanent loss of function, scarring, or disfigurement. Insurers may be obliged to give workers a one-time payment of up to $15,000 in addition to benefits, depending on the severity of the injury.

A worker's compensation settlement is based on the amount of time that will be missed from work in the future. Instead of receiving weekly workers' compensation checks, a worker would get them all in a one time payment. The amount of the settlement is determined by the pre-accident wage, and whether the settlement is for entire, partial, or permanent disability benefits. A worker's compensation settlement does not include any compensation for pain and suffering, but can provide more monetary relief than weekly worker’s compensation. It is important to have an experienced workers' compensation attorney on your side to ensure that you obtain the maximum amount of money in a settlement that you can receive.

Workers' compensation settlements offer injured employees more financial relief than ordinary benefits. However, it is important to note that workers' compensation benefits cover the cost of medical treatment, vocational training and rehabilitation, workplace illnesses, etc. Benefits can be broken up into different types, such as partial disability benefits, total temporary disability benefits, and permanent and total disability benefits. Workers' compensation is available to all injured workers. 

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, you may be dealing with mounting medical bills, or long-term economic loss. It is critical to contact our Boston personal injury attorney with extensive expertise at the Bellotti Law Group P.C. Call 617-225-2100 for a free case evaluation.