How a Value can be Placed on ‘Pain and Suffering’

Calculating the amount that is to be asked as compensation is always a rather difficult task. The biggest problem that lies here is the fact that it is virtually impossible for anyone to set a price on the pain and suffering faced by the victim of medical negligence. While the other aspects like travel, medical and legal bills can be easily analysed and amalgamated by the medical negligence compensation calculator, the same cannot be said about intangible aspects like trauma, pain and loss of life or diminished quality of life.

The Difficulties

There can be no doubt about the fact that it is practically impossible to set up an amount that can really compensate for the problems that are faced by the victim of clinical callousness. However, this is something that is nevertheless achieved by the judge and the jury in the court when the trial is in progress. In order to make sure that justice is meted out ethically and effectively, the judge and the jury take a number of steps.

The Solution

• First of all, the liability has to be established. This is done by taking into account all the information provided by both the parties. At the end of this, the judge and the jury decide whether the medical negligence compensation claim brought by the claimant is authentic and the other party guilty or not.

• Once the liability of the case has been established, it is the job of the judge and the jury to decide upon the amount of compensation that is to be awarded to the claimant. For this purpose, they have to make sure that the lawyers of both the parties have provided the court with their respective amounts; that is, the claimant’s lawyer will present a sum to the court, an another sum of compensation will be presented to the court by the respondent’s lawyer as well.

• At this stage, it is of the utmost importance that the lawyers representing both the parties embark on an explanation and analysis of the sum each has decided upon as compensation to the claimant keeping in view the pain and suffering undergone by the same. It is of the utmost importance that the arguments are strong and calculated enough to impress upon the judge and jury that the correct amount is being set down by the medical negligence compensation calculator.

• The final decision about the amount of compensation is made by the jury and approved of by the judge. It ought to be kept in mind that this is actually the final decision made in this regard; the jury and the judge take into account all the information presented in court and analyses them on the basis of the presentation and arguments made by the lawyers, previous cases, authoritative literature, guidelines set down by the government as well as their own experiences in the profession.

The Elements

It should be kept in mind that the pain and suffering that is calculated to build up the medical negligence compensation amount is not just what the victim has to undergo physically. The psychological trauma of being ill and confined, along with the helplessness, is no less than the physical agony. This impacts the loved ones of the victim as well, and the anguish of the person who loses a loved one to clinical callousness must be accounted as well.