What Counts as Pain and Suffering in a Florida Personal Injury Case?

What Counts as Pain and Suffering in a Florida Personal Injury Case?

Key Takeaways

• Florida allows injured victims to pursue pain and suffering damages in cases where they have suffered a serious injury, as defined by law.
• Accident victims must seek medical treatment within 14 days to qualify for PIP benefits.
• Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer from our firm can help you avoid the risks associated with gaps in medical treatment. Our attorneys can guide you through the claims process and help ensure that your medical care supports your case. 

After an accident, medical bills and lost wages are often the most obvious losses. But many victims experience something harder to measure, and just as real: pain and suffering. 

In Florida personal injury cases, pain and suffering fall under non-economic damages, and they can make up a significant portion of a claim when properly documented and proven. Understanding what qualifies is an important step toward recovering full and fair compensation.

Video Transcript:

Ever wonder how they come up with those big settlement numbers? Let me explain how personal injury claims are calculated. Personal injury claims basically follow the same pattern no matter what the injury is, what causes the injury, whether it's a car accident, a slip and fall, a trip and fall, any other type of product defect case causing an injury, the evaluation and calculation of damages is always the same.

Let's take a car accident case, the most typical type of personal injury case. In a car accident case, the first thing we're going to do is look at who caused the accident. Is it extremely 100% clear that the other person was the sole cause of the accident or are we dealing with a situation where our client is partly at fault also? or in some cases we have multiple defendants that contributed to the cause of the accident.

First we're dealing with fault. Oftentimes it's 100% the fault of the other driver. Let's say in a car accident case in Florida we follow something called a contributory fault which means that even if the driver admits that they're at fault they can also claim that our client was partly at fault themselves. So that gets taken into account.

The second thing that is put into the evaluation and calculation of a personal injury claim is the amount of your damages. And your damages are essentially broken down into economic damages and non-economic damages. And the economic damages are generally medical bills up to the date of a settlement. We call those past medical bills and then a calculation of what your future medical bills are going to be as a result of your injuries.

So, we're taking all of that past and future medical bills into account. We're also taking into account the extent of your lost wages. And when we go to resolve your claim or settle your claim, anything from that day in the past is called past lost wages. Anything in the future that you haven't yet lost but are expected to lose is called loss of earning capacity.

A perfect example would be a client who works a manual labor job. Let's say they build homes. They're a brick layer. And as a result of the accident, they can no longer be a brick layer making $50,000 a year and they don't have the other educational background to go out there and do a job making the similar amount of money. So those clients sometimes have a loss of earning capacity. They're not going to be unable to work for the rest of their lives. They're just going to be unable to make as much as they did prior to the accident.

We calculate that loss of earning capacity. We use experts such as vocational rehabilitation experts to help us determine what the loss of earning capacity is. And then to calculate those damages, we also bring in an economist which is required under the law to bring all of that future loss of earning capacity back to present value.

Those are the economic damages, the medical bills and lost wages, past and future. Then we have the non-economic damages that are broken down into what is generally referred to as pain and suffering. But in Florida, pain and suffering is really seven different elements. You’ve got compensation for your pain, your suffering, your mental anguish, your inconvenience, your loss of enjoyment of life, and your disability and scarring. Pain and suffering is the term we commonly use, but it’s really seven different elements.

We then also figure out what your past pain and suffering is worth. We also work with your doctors and other experts, we figure out what type of non-economic pain and suffering damages you're going to have in the future. So that goes into the evaluation of your future pain and suffering.

So all of those things start with how the accident happened. One of the things that are really important in car accident cases is what does the damage look like to the cars? Is it just a tiny dent on the bumper or is your car total? All of those factors go into the evaluation and calculation of damages in a personal injury claim.

If you have any other questions regarding the calculation or worth of your personal injury claim, please give me a call at 813-915-1110. I'll be happy to discuss it with you. The consultation's always free. We can do it over the phone. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

Understanding Pain and Suffering Under Florida Law

Under Florida law, pain and suffering refer to the physical discomfort and emotional distress caused by an injury. Unlike medical expenses or lost income, these damages do not come with receipts or invoices. Instead, they reflect how an injury has impacted your daily life, relationships, and overall well-being.

Florida allows injured victims to pursue pain and suffering damages in cases where they have suffered a serious injury, as defined by law. This often includes permanent injuries, significant scarring or disfigurement, or long-term loss of bodily function. In auto accident cases, meeting Florida’s serious injury threshold is especially important due to the state’s no-fault insurance system.

Examples of Non-Economic Damages

Pain and suffering encompass a wide range of non-economic damages, including but not limited to:

• Physical pain and discomfort from injuries such as fractures, herniated discs, or soft tissue damage
  
• Emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress, following an accident
  
• Loss of enjoyment of life when injuries prevent you from participating in hobbies, activities, or routines you once enjoyed
  
• Mental anguish related to long-term recovery, chronic pain, or uncertainty about the future
  
• Scarring or disfigurement that affects self-confidence or social interactions
  
• Loss of consortium, which refers to the impact an injury has on a marital relationship

These damages recognize that injuries affect more than just your finances; they affect your quality of life.

How Insurance Companies Try to Minimize These Claims

• Downplaying the severity of your injuries
  
• Claiming your pain is due to a pre-existing condition
  
• Using gaps in medical treatment to suggest you weren’t truly injured

Adjusters are trained to protect their company’s bottom line, not to fully account for the personal toll an injury takes on your life. Without strong legal representation, many accident victims accept settlements that fail to reflect the true extent of their suffering.

Proving Pain and Suffering With Legal Help

Successfully proving pain and suffering requires more than simply stating that you are in pain. Evidence plays a critical role. This may include:

• Medical records documenting ongoing treatment and limitations
  
• Physicians' opinions regarding long-term or permanent effects
  
• Testimony from family members, friends, or coworkers
  
• Personal journals detailing daily pain, emotional struggles, and missed activities
  
• Photographs or videos showing visible injuries or scarring

An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to present this evidence in a compelling way and negotiate aggressively with insurance companies. At Hancock Injury Attorneys, we work closely with our clients to understand how their injuries have truly affected their lives, and we fight to ensure that impact is fully recognized.

If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation for both your financial losses and your pain and suffering. Having the right legal team can make all the difference in pursuing the recovery you deserve. Call us at 813-915-1110 to schedule your free case consultation with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys today. 

When insurers see a delay between the accident and your first medical visit, or long periods between follow-up appointments, they may argue that your injuries were not serious. They may claim that if you were truly hurt, you would have sought treatment right away and followed your doctor’s recommendations without interruption. 

Adjusters may also argue that your injuries were caused by something unrelated to the accident. For example, if you wait weeks or months to seek treatment, insurers may claim that a new event caused your condition rather than the original incident.

You Have a Limited Time to Get Medical Care According to PIP Rules 

Common Reasons Injury Victims Delay Medical Care 

Many accident victims have legitimate reasons for delays in treatment. Unfortunately, insurance companies often ignore these realities when evaluating claims. 

One common reason for gaps in medical treatment is that injuries are not always immediately noticeable. Conditions such as whiplash, concussions, and soft tissue injuries may take hours or even days to develop symptoms. Victims may initially feel fine, only to experience worsening pain later. 

Financial concerns can also play a role. Some individuals worry about the cost of medical care, especially if they are unsure whether insurance will cover treatment. Others may lack transportation or face scheduling challenges that make consistent care difficult. 

Additionally, some victims simply try to “push through” their pain because they want to return to normal activities as quickly as possible. While this mindset is understandable, delaying or skipping medical appointments can create documentation gaps that insurers use to question the legitimacy of injuries. 

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Helps Protect Your Case 

Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer from our firm can help you avoid the risks associated with gaps in medical treatment. Our attorneys can guide you through the claims process and help ensure that your medical care supports your case. 

They can help you understand the importance of following your doctor’s treatment plan and attending all recommended appointments. If you experience unavoidable delays, your attorney can help document the reasons and minimize the impact on your claim. 

Our personal injury attorneys also work closely with medical professionals to gather detailed records and expert opinions that strengthen your case. They can present clear evidence linking your injuries to the accident and push back against insurance company tactics designed to undervalue your claim. 

Call Hancock Injury Attorneys at 813-915-1110 

At Hancock Injury Attorneys, we understand how insurance companies use gaps in medical treatment to challenge injury claims. Our team works to help clients stay informed, protect their rights, and pursue the compensation they need to move forward after an accident. 

If you have been injured in Florida, seeking consistent medical care and experienced legal guidance can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. Call our office at 813-915-1110 to schedule your free case consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys today.

FAQs