Recovering from an injury when you’re out of work can be frustrating and stressful. You’re dealing with physical pain, worrying about money for bills and healthcare expenses, and your emotional state is suffering as a result. You might be wondering, “Do Workers’ Compensation Claims pay for pain and suffering?”
What is Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering are an intangible concept that represents the emotional, physical, and mental stress caused by an injury. Examples of pain and suffering include mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of companionship or consortium, fear or anxiety, humiliation or embarrassment, inconvenience due to a disability caused by the injury, loss of wages due to missed work from being disabled from the injury, physical impairment from the injury, as well as disfigurement.
Pain and suffering do not necessarily require visible signs or proof of your subjective experience but must be serious enough for a reasonable person in similar circumstances to understand. Pain and suffering are usually assessed by evaluating all relevant evidence presented on behalf of a claimant such as medical records detailing other symptoms that can’t be observed visually. In addition to physical pain there must also be an emotional component present in order for pain and suffering to exist.
Does Workers’ Compensation Pay for Pain and Suffering?
One of the trade-offs in workers’ compensation is that you receive no direct payment for pain and suffering. You’ve undoubtedly heard this phrase being used in the context of people who bring lawsuits for auto accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, etc. Basically, if you bring a claim in District or Superior Court you may make a claim for pain and suffering. But you usually don’t receive anything from the defendants in your claim until the entire claim is settled.
Workers’ Compensation claims do not operate in the court system, and they don’t operate under those laws. Rather than going to court, your case is under the jurisdiction or control of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. The Industrial Commission is the government agency which handles all workers’ compensation claims in North Carolina.
If there is a dispute the workers’ compensation case is heard by a deputy commissioner, not by a jury and a judge. And you cannot bring a claim for pain and suffering. The tradeoff was that in accepted claims you don’t have to wait until the end of your claim to get paid. While that may not seem fair now imagine receiving no weekly checks and no medical treatment. That’s not how it works today. This tradeoff of getting fewer benefits under workers’ compensation but getting them more quickly was part of the political deals which lead to the workers’ compensation laws and system we have today.
While you don’t receive direct payment for pain and suffering as a direct part of your workers’ compensation claim, pain is a component that a doctor is supposed to consider when assigning the permanent partial disability rating. While some doctors appear unclear on this the Industrial Commission rating guide does include it. This is where a workers’ compensation attorney can come in. Because we have dealt with many of these doctors on many occasions, we can easily show them the workers’ compensation documents from the Industrial Commission which should get the doctor to change the rating as necessary.
What Can You Claim for Pain and Suffering Instead?
Claims for pain and suffering are not often eligible to be collected via workers’ compensation claims. However, there are other avenues that you can pursue in order to gain relief financially and emotionally from your injury or illness.
One of the easiest ways to seek reimbursement for your pain and suffering is to approach your employer directly for a financial settlement. If you feel that the company was negligent in any way that resulted in your injury or illness, then this can serve as grounds for negotiating a settlement between the two parties. Legal expertise from a specialist in workplace injuries can be very useful if your employer requires convincing.
You may also have legal grounds to sue your employer or a third-party if they were proven to be negligent in any way related to the incident causing the pain and suffering. This type of case should always involve legal representation since it can be difficult to prove negligence without an experienced professional giving advice.
In addition, many people look into filing personal injury suits with the assistance of an experienced lawyer so they can collect financial damages associated with their pain and suffering such as medical expenses, loss of wages due to missing workdays, and lost earning capacity due to disabilities caused by accidents at work.
Consult With a Lawyer!
It is important to consult with an experienced lawyer if you believe that you are entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering. An attorney will be able to evaluate your claim and advise you on the best course of action to take in order to seek a financial settlement or pursue legal action against any negligent parties. They will also be able to provide you with advice on how to ensure that any potential lawsuit is successful. Contact Oxner + Permar Law today to learn more.
