Anxiety and mental distress are common after a vehicle accident results in severe injuries. Much of this anxiety centers on your personal safety. For example, you may be terrified of riding in a car.
However, some of your anxiousness could be associated with the financial hardships an accident may pose. For example, most lose income while spending more money (medical care, etc.) after a serious accident. Worsening matters, most victims have no idea how much compensation they will ultimately obtain. All this and more can ramp up your anxiety level.
Can you get pain and suffering in Georgia?
Like most states, Georgia accident and injury laws allow crash victims to claim for non-economic damages, commonly known as pain and suffering. Eligible victims can obtain these damages on top of the economic damages they receive.
Emotional distress or anguish is typically an eligible reason to seek pain and suffering. So long as your mental anguish arose due to your car accident or injuries, you may qualify for a non-economic award based on financial anxiety.
If the accident impacted your life in other ways, you might deserve even more non-economic damages. Consider these five examples:
- You suffer from persistent depression
- The accident left you disfigured
- You no longer enjoy your life
- Doctors expect your lifespan to be shorter
- The accident left you unable to resume marital relations
- Your injuries caused permanent impairment or disability
A non-economic damages award can make a meaningful difference in your post-accident quality of life. Best of all, Georgia does not limit the amount you can potentially receive in a pain and suffering claim (many states have damage caps).
With skilled legal guidance, you could walk away with enough compensation to meet your needs and eliminate your post-crash anxiety for good.