If you are injured in a maritime accident in Alaska, you can recover various types of damages. These damages generally include lost income, medical costs, and pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
If you are part of the vessel’s crew, you have damage claims under the Jones Act and general maritime law claims for unseaworthiness. While damages for lost income and medical costs are often determined by calculations, recovering for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life is more challenging.
Pain, Suffering & Loss of Enjoyment are Compensatory Damages
Damages for pain and suffering are non-economic damages. These are damages without a certain dollar value. Pain and suffering damages are compensatory damages, which are meant to compensate a maritime injury victim for their loss due to someone else’s negligence.
You must prove negligence or unseaworthiness to recover damages for pain and suffering. Medical costs and lost wages can generally be easily calculated, but putting a dollar value on pain and suffering is complicated.
Pain and suffering are based on your individual injury and the impact it has on your life and typically includes both physical and emotional suffering.
How Testimony Can Prove Your Damages
Proving pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment usually involves testimony. You may testify about your physical pain and emotional suffering and your friends and family may testify about how your injury has caused emotional suffering and how the suffering will likely continue due to ongoing physical pain and future complications. Testimony with respect to loss of enjoyment may also center around you physical restrictions which impact your ability to participate in recreations activities, household chores, or activities with friends and family.
Your chance of recovering damages for pain and suffering increases with a doctor’s testimony. Expert testimony from a doctor usually makes a major difference in the outcome of a maritime negligence claim.
A doctor can testify about the level of pain you might be experiencing and the reasonably anticipated impact the injury will have on your future.
If your injury involves disfigurement or leaves you disabled, your pain and suffering damages can include compensation for embarrassment or humiliation, in addition to physical and mental anguish.