Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“How do you assign a value to the ‘pain and suffering’ end of it (damages). Because we know on the special damages, as you just described, you have very clear data. And there’s going to be a total. But now, you’ve got ‘pain and suffering’. And I’m asking this question because the person who’s coming to you is going to say, ‘well, what is the other side going to say about my ‘pain and suffering’?”
Spencer Freeman – Personal Injury Attorney – Pierce County, WA
“The other side is going to say your pain and suffering was nil, or close to nothing. You’re right. The calculation of special damages becomes the easier aspect of the case. A more difficult aspect is going to be creating some sort of valuation process for pain and suffering. And for me, what this comes down to is looking at what juries have done in the past with similar injuries. Then comparing that scenario to this particular set of facts, with this particular client.
If I had a client that used to ride a horse every day, and then after the accident, yeah, they feel fine in their daily life, but every time they ride a horse their back hurts. They can never ride a horse again. That fact now, changes how you value pain and suffering. You have to go look at what juries do, and then also look at what facts do you have in your particular case that may alter. Either may increase the value, or may decrease the value of a case. But it’s important for me to understand some of the daily impact an injury has on my client’s life.”
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