What is the Most Money I Can Receive for Pain and Suffering?

April 11, 2016

Just today, I received a call from an individual who wanted a second opinion

on his personal injury claim. He was severely injured and just wanted

to ensure that his current attorney was doing everything possible to obtain

maximum value for his injury case. We discussed his claim at length and

based upon what he was telling me, it sounded like his lawyer was doing

a good job. I provided him with a couple of tips and things to look for

in his case, but most importantly I told him that he needs to give his

attorney a call and set up a meeting so they could discuss the claim in

more detail.

Right as we were about to end the conversation, he said, “One last

question, how much pain and suffering can I get for my claim?” This

is a loaded question that is highly dependent on the specific injuries, but

the short answer is legally there is no limit to the amount of money that

you are entitled to claim for pain and suffering in Georgia.

Important Factors That Determine How Much Compensation You Will Receive

With that said, there are practical limitations to the amount of money

you will receive for pain and suffering in your personal injury claim.

Injuries Sustained

The most important factor is your injuries and the following questions

must be answered:

• What is the nature of your injuries?
• What body part(s) was/were injured? Are the injuries permanent?
• Did the injuries require surgery?
• Was the surgery successful?
• What about a future surgery?

Thus, the more extensive and

serious the injury the more money for pain and suffering. Tied to your injuries are your

actual medical bills. Generally, your medical bills are indicative of

your injuries to the extent that the larger your medical bills the more

likely that you received a significant injury.

But watch out, simply undergoing more medical treatment to increase your

medical bills will not result in a larger pain and suffering award if

the insurance company does not think that the medical treatment is reasonable

or related. Insurance companies are extremely mindful of “over-treating”

for an injury and will actually use that to penalize you in your claim.

Insurance Coverage

Another consideration to the amount of pain and suffering money you will

receive is tied to the amount of insurance coverage available for your

claim. If your medical bills exceed the available insurance policy limits

and the responsible party does not have any other money to pay your claim,

then your “pain and suffering” will be constrained by the limits

of the insurance available.

Remember that every case presents unique circumstances that may impact your

personal injury claim.

If you want to know more about the value of your personal injury claim,