Am I entitled to damages for suffering and mental anguish in a catastrophic injury case?
Yes, you may be entitled to damages for suffering and mental anguish in a catastrophic injury case in Virginia. In most cases, you can recover money for the physical pain and suffering caused by the catastrophic injury as well as for any emotional distress or disruption to your daily life that resulted from the injury. The emotional distress claim could be based on, for example, the disruption to your daily life that may include changes to employment, activities, hobbies, lifestyle, and family life. This is called “non-economic damages” because they are usually not calculated as a dollar amount, but rather as a subjective measure of how the injury has affected you personally. Other forms of suffering and mental anguish that could be compensable include loss of companionship, humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety or fear. The amount of compensation that you will receive for the emotional distress or suffering will depend on the particular circumstances of your case and the severity of the injury. To make a valid claim of emotional distress, you will need to identify the physical injury, the emotional distress it caused, and establish a causal relationship between the two. This can be done with medical evidence or testimony from a psychologist or other expert witness. You should speak to a catastrophic injury attorney in Virginia to determine the best way to present a claim for damages.
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