The amount of money damages a claimant gets for pain and suffering will first depending upon the amount claimed in a lawsuit if such is filed or the amount demanded to the responsible party in the underlying claim if it is an insurance claim. Even though a lawyer representing a client in an injury negligence based lawsuit may claim a certain amount for pain and suffering in the end the jury or the insurance adjuster depending upon the scenario will award pain and suffering money for differing reasons.

“Jury awards for pain and suffering may vary greatly depending upon the socio economic and political factors motivating them at the time in the particular jurisdiction of the suit. In most states the maximum monetary amount awarded for pain and suffering is capped at what is listed in the particular suit or written complaint. In some states under the banner of tort reform there are maximum caps that are codified statutorily at which a jury may not exceed in awarding their damages when they do. Certainly the personality of the plaintiff, their witnesses and overall affect of the injuries which befell the victim plaintiff will play a powerful role in any damage award if damages are even awarded once liability issues are satisfied. The power and personality of the lawyer representing her or his client also may factor into a high money damage award case. How juries award and when they award is a study in and of itself and there are experts and related businesses which provide advice and counsel to the attorney litigants.”

“Apart from money damages awarded in trial money, damages are also given informally outside the judicial system in mediations, arbitration (both of which may be court annexed or non litigated claims) as well as in routine insurance settlements. Individual claimants or those represented by lawyers often present demands to insurers to settle for money. These demand for bodily injury compensation monies often set out damages that are similarly used in the court litigated pleadings we see filed everyday. Demands are usually written short summaries of a claimants medical car and the related factual occurrence which resulted in the injury case at hand.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_and_suffering

“Such awards may follow in house insurance guidelines with some leeway grated to adjusters to adjust the claim in order to prevent the claim from being fully litigated in court. There is a wide range of levels of compensation which may fluctuate seasonally and with the economy and dictates of the insurance industry setting the varying levels of compensation to claimants. Some insurers have experimented with using complicated computers which tabulate the data that is presented and grant the adjuster a level of money authority for which to settle the claim. Apart from these computer models most adjusters will adjust claims to pay people what they can pay and what is accepted and as with human nature there inevitably will be high settlement and low settlements stories to serve as water cooler fodder for the eager eared plaintiff or injured party.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_and_suffering

Yesterday as I was driving down the road, a school bus was stopped on the opposite side of the street with the red stop sign out. I noticed that the traffic on the side of the bus was stopped and waiting for the red stop sign to go back in. However, on my side of the street it was different. I was stopped and watched as cars went right past me. They did not stop at the law states.

811.155 Failure to stop for bus safety lights; penalty. (1) A driver commits the offense of failure to stop for bus safety lights if the driver meets or overtakes from either direction any vehicle that is stopped on a roadway and that is operating red bus safety lights described under ORS 816.260 and the driver does not:
(a) Stop before reaching the vehicle; and
(b) Remain standing until the bus safety lights are no longer operating.
(2) The following apply to the offense described in this section:
(a) The offense described in this section does not apply if the vehicle operating the bus safety lights is not permitted under ORS 816.350 and 816.360 to operate red bus safety lights.
(b) A driver need not comply with this section if the vehicle operating red bus safety lights is stopped on a different roadway.
(3) The offense described in this section, failure to stop for bus safety lights, is a Class A traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §583; 1985 c.16 §290]

http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html

A good rule is to always stop. Children can always do something you are not ready for. If you are a passenger make sure your driver understands and knows this law. If you or they are in an accident, make sure you hire an attorney with the knowledge of this law.

Getting ordered by your insurance company to go and attend an IME is scary because you may be poked and prodded by a doctor whose interest is not the same as yours. In fact he or she is getting paid by the PIP (personal injury protection) insurance company. IME’s are not independent and trial lawyers and injury lawyers like me call them defense medical exams.

Should you go to the IME exam? If you do not attend an IME scheduled exam the pip will cut off pip benefits. If you attend a IME you also risk having the IME doctor generate a negative IME report that could deep six your injury case against the responsible driver.

More and more we see IME’s closer and closer to the mva accident date. IME’s within three month’s following a crash in the state of Oregon and Washington are now much more common.

One benefit of having an injury lawyer on your side is that the pip carrier insurance agent may be more hesitant to send you to an IME in the first place. When my injury clients get an IME notice my practice calls the pip carrier and attempts to cancel it.

A final note on IME exams is always make sure the IME doctor is credentialed the same as your treating doctor. An example is if you have a chiropractor than the IME doctor should be a chiropractor, same as an orthopedic or other medical personal.