If you are hurt in an accident, getting compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and other economic losses is often straightforward. Your attorney presents documentation to the insurance company (or in court, if necessary) regarding those losses and you receive a monetary award to cover them. The more challenging part of a claim is proving that you deserve compensation for non-economic damages, more commonly known as pain and suffering.

To recover compensation for pain and suffering in Connecticut, you must present evidence regarding the physical, mental and emotional trauma caused by your physical injury. However, unlike medical bills and lost wages, the mental and emotional anguish you experience is hard to quantify, making it difficult for a jury to know how much compensation you deserve. Judges usually instruct juries to use their sound judgment and experiences to arrive at a fair and reasonable amount.

To help the jury ascertain a reasonable amount, your personal injury lawyer can present several forms of evidence that help explain the pain and suffering your injuries have inflicted on you. These are common types:

• Medical records — Severe injuries usually require surgery, physical therapy and perhaps mental health counseling. When medical records show that you needed extensive procedures or treatments, it strengthens the notion that you have endured pain and suffering and may continue to endure it.
• Physician testimony — Your doctors may be able to offer their opinions on how physically painful the injuries you suffered will be. Sometimes, an independent physician is called as an expert witness.
• Mental health specialist testimony — A licensed therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist can evaluate you and give an opinion on the emotional distress and damage likely caused by your injuries.
• Testimony of family members — Those closest to you can see first-hand how your injuries have impacted your life. A spouse, child, parent or sibling can testify about how your daily routine has been affected by injuries inflicted in the accident.
• Your own testimony — Your own testimony about your own experience can be very powerful evidence. After all, no one knows what you’re going through better than you do. A jury needs to hear your direct account of the physical and emotional issues you’re struggling with.

Once you establish that you are entitled to pain and suffering damages, calculating them is the next step. There are various ways to do this and it can be complicated, so it’s best to ask your lawyer to explain how it works. Unlike many states, Connecticut does not place a limit on the amount you can recover for pain and suffering.

At Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. in Hamden and East Haven, our attorneys know how to present evidence to insurance companies and juries to help maximize the amount of compensation you receive. If you have been seriously injured, call 203-745-0942 or contact us online to speak with one of our injury attorneys today.