{"id":375501,"date":"2016-11-03T13:40:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T18:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/north-carolina-law\/pain-and-suffering-damages-in-north-carolina.html"},"modified":"2018-12-10T15:24:11","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T20:24:11","slug":"pain-and-suffering-damages-in-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/north-carolina-law\/pain-and-suffering-damages-in-north-carolina.html","title":{"rendered":"Pain and Suffering Damages in North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pain and Suffering Damages in North Carolina<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Three days of rain after a surprisingly dry early autumn have left the roads a mess \u2013 but you aren\u2019t going to let ordinary mid-Atlantic weather stop you from tailgating at the Panthers make-or-break matchup against the Cardinals. It may only be October, but the season is on the line. It\u2019s just too bad that the guy in the Ford-F150 that parked behind your grilling site had a few too many Dirty Beetz<\/a> before trying to turn on his heater \u2013 third-degree burns from the grill pressed into your sternum and two crushed tibias are going to put you in more hurt than a concussed Carson Palmer.<\/p>\r\n

This means pain and suffering. Lots of each, plus years of medical issues and a lot of time off work. Calculating the damages from missing work is easy, but what about the pain and suffering? Read on to learn more about pain and suffering damages in North Carolina.<\/p>\r\n

How Do Pain and Suffering Damages Work?<\/h2>\r\n

These \u201cpain and suffering\u201d damages<\/a> cover more than hurt feelings or embarrassment \u2013 they account for the physical pain and emotional distress that a person deals with after an accident or intentional harm by another person. Distress (or \u201canguish\u201d) may include depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, and other mental symptoms that accompany the injuries sustained. Obviously, this is hard to calculate — there is no dollar amount immediately associated with such pains, which doesn\u2019t make them any less real to the victim. Because of their less calculable nature, pain and suffering awards are often called non-economic (or \u201cgeneral\u201d) damages.<\/p>\r\n

When attempting to place a dollar value on these pain and suffering damages, a judge or jury might include:<\/p>\r\n