Getting in a crash can be a disaster, especially if you or a loved one is injured. But can you sue for pain and suffering? As Ohio car accident attorneys, we are going to give you some answers.

In a nutshell, Ohio car accident attorneys will tell you, if you or a loved one was injured in a crash that was someone else’s fault, you may be able to get compensation – including for pain and suffering.

However, just how much money you might receive isn’t always an easy thing to determine – even for Ohio car accident attorneys.

Determining how much you might receive for pain and suffering is not as easy as determining how much you might get for things like medical bills, lost wages or getting your vehicle repaired.

Let’s start with defining what pain and suffering is – from a legal standpoint. Pain and suffering is, in a nutshell, your physical pain and mental anguish after a crash. As Ohio car accident attorneys, we explain it like this: If you hurt your neck in an accident caused by someone else, your medical bills should be covered. But if you have anxiety and stress caused by the pain you experience, that would be considered pain and suffering. Some people have anxiety, stress and other mental health symptoms after a car crash, and those can be considered pain and suffering as well.

When you get into a crash caused by someone else, the insurance companies – or even a jury – gets to decide how much you might receive for damages (meaning, they decide how much to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the crash).

In many cases, a multiplier is used. For example, if your lost wages were $5,000 and your medical bills were $10,000, that equals $15,000. Depending on the multiplier, usually between 1-5, you could get up to five times that amount in pain and suffering damages.

There are other ways to determine damages awarded for pain and suffering as well, and you might have to provide proof like medical records, testimony from friends, family and coworkers and more.

Ohio does have a cap on these types of damages, and it’s $250,000 OR three times the amount of your economic damages. This does not apply, however, if you have a catastrophic injury. A catastrophic injury is anything that means you cannot take care of yourself, have a permanent disability or deformity or lose a limb or limb function.