Can a person sue for pain and suffering? Only by living the mystery of Christian suffering can we get an idea of what suffering means and, as the Pope said previously, transcend it and overcome it. Marine Corps recruiter Randy Norfleet survived the Oklahoma City bombing despite losing 40 percent of his blood and needing 250 stitches to close his wounds. . We usually don't have much trouble understanding that our Divine Bridegroom loves us; but we can easily forget how much He longs for us to love Him back. This reality is a stark reminder that we have not reached the new heavens and new earth. When you're in pain, your world narrows down to mere survival, and it's easy for others to judge you for not "following the rules" that should only apply to those whose lives aren't being swallowed by the pain monster. Rather, it recognizes the multifaceted ways that suffering can come upon us. The multiplier is chosen depending on factors such as: For example, if a person is involved in a car accident and suffers whiplash, a concussion, and a broken arm, their medical bills could total $5,000. The starting point for the Christian understanding of suffering is the messianic self-understanding of Jesus himself. Like Mary in the example above, your pain and suffering may consist mostly of economic losses such as: Cost of medical care The Purpose of Pain. All rights reserved. Either you have, you are, or you will through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). But even medicine is a gift from God where man tested God's creation and created medications that would help our fallen, human bodies. c. an ancient gift of the gods. ibid.,n, 16}. Suffering often develops compassion and mercy in us. What if the person in question is a believer? In addition to physical pain, plaintiffs can recover for the permanent physical . As well as striking the blow, the man was also responsible for seeing to it that the injured man was fully healed after the blow was struck. As for evil, it is a deprivation; it has no positive value in itself and therefore cannot be a positive cause or principle, for its origin is a mere privation. Be tolerant of one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against someone; just as the Lord has forgave you, you too should forgive each other (Colossians 3:13). One of the counterintuitive truths about suffering is that it prepares Christians for more glory. Let us flee from self-righteousness, and toward compassion, as our Lord has compassion upon us ( Psalm 78:37-39 ). (Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, 166). The wisdom we need in this world often wears black. a. a place of unending suffering and pain. Furthermore, the Christian mystery is not only something contemplated but also experienced. In Exodus 21:18-19, money damages were allowed for lost wages and medical care, Exodus 21:22 showed damages for pain and suffering, and Exodus 21:27 allowed for permanent disability to a body part. Moreover, those who not only act to help the sick but also to drive away a whole series of evils, those who fight hatred, violence, cruelty and every type of physical and spiritual suffering, belong to the same category as the Good Samaritan. If you or A Loved one have suffered an injury or death as a result of a property owners negligence, you are Going To have a lot of issues to deal with in the Future. Your email address will not be published. Having been falsely arrested, he used the application of Roman law to be able to regain his freedom once he had been falsely incarcerated. In this essay I'll be discussing the value of suffering, an unhappy non-negotiable of life in a fallen world. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), 122. There is no separation between the Resurrection and the Cross but convergence, both in Christ and in us; the Pope says, therefore, that Christ contains the signs of his wounds in his glorified Body. 1:4) because we have experienced the reality of the Holy Spirit being there for us, walking alongside us in our pain. Suffering and transgression were held to be the same, at least it was believed that suffering was caused by transgression. In Christ the enigma of pain and death is revealed. Then, given the Holy Father's openness to all human values, it seems to me that it would be interesting to allude to and discuss certain key thoughts on four solutions from outside the Christian context. I believe that each person needs to examine their own heart and decide what is right for them. The amount of money you seek in your lawsuit can depend on your injury and also the legal limits in your jurisdiction. He was completely dependent on the Father, choosing to become weak so that God's strength could shine through Him. There are several kinds of personal injury suits, all of which can result in pain and suffering settlements. Trials are nothing . Pain and suffering is one of the 76 Important factors affecting injury claims and settlements. Let us now try to describe suffering. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. After many sleepless nights wracked by various kinds of pain, my friend Jan now knows what she was saved from. our 99 Self-Care Techniques for Christians, How God Used My Struggles with Scrupulosity to Teach Me His Amazing Grace. Mystery, in the Christian faith, is not darkness but dazzling brightness. Some lawyers may target Christians who are looking for someone to help them with their problems; others may focus on people looking for someone to blame for their pain and suffering. This market value on pain and suffering established by similar cases is a starting point from which lawyers operate. Pain and suffering are subjective in nature. If you believe you or someone you love were the victim of medical malpractice, contact Morgan & Morgan. "5 The reality of God's power, His love, and His character are made very, very real to a watching world when we trust Him in our pain. It generally is important to select a qualified attorney to help you pursue your pain and suffering settlement. Some states cap the amount of damages that can be awarded in a pain and suffering settlement. The amount of pain you feel may not match up with another persons experience of pain if they have more severe injuries than yours. Taking this advice is wise, since lawsuits can rob us of our peace of mind (Proverbs 29:9). There's another aspect of bringing comfort to those in pain. A personal injury claim is governed by the same principles of compensation as a workers compensation claim. However, many cases go to trial and result in a verdict, a decision by a court as to the amount the plaintiff should be awarded, and these can be used to estimate how much a case is worth. But developing holiness in us is a worthwhile, extremely important goal for the Holy One who is our divine Bridegroom. I strongly believe that Christians can and, in some cases, should sue individuals or corporate bodies for a number of reasons that have been mentioned above. Not His own strength; He displayed the Father's strength because of that very weakness. He redeems all of it for His glory and our blessing. But just as sunlight pours through a window but is blocked by a wall, I discovered that other people could see God's strength and beauty in me because of the window-like nature of my weakness! Wherever there is suffering, there is a battle a battle for your soul. She loves teaching women and laughing, and if those two can be combined, all the better. Christians suffer for a variety of reasons, including many of the same . A person should try to settle his claim before a lawsuit is filed. If your car being totaled resulted in a more catastrophic physical injury, it is likely that your settlement will be larger because of that even if pain and suffering is not explicitly mentioned. He does know what He's doing . It is thought that one of the reasons that medical insurance is so expensive is that there are so many people who sue for things that were never under anyones control or were not caused by one individuals negligence in the first place. Cases include: Pain and suffering can be caused by injuries such as: Factors that affect the amount of a pain and suffering settlement include: In most cases the settlement you are seeking is paid by an insurance company and the policy limits control how much of a settlement they offer. Our culture disdains weakness, but our frailty is a sign of God's workmanship in us. That means the defendant must have: Owed a duty to you; . Serve the defendants notice of your lawsuit. Our understanding of the inevitability of suffering does not mean that we should regard it with complacency. The Bible does talk about mediation, which could be considered a form of suing for your rights. It can be hard to place a dollar value on the value of one days pain however. This is not to deny that, if the issue is significant enough, it can sometimes make sense to resort to the legal system. New York, meanwhile, has no caps on any damages, economic, non-economic or punitive. She's based in Southern California. The Bible says, Make sure your character does not contain any inclination toward money, and be content with what you have (Hebrews 13:5). Also, the Bible discusses the consequences of suing another Christian, so we can infer that there are negative consequences for doing so (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). No set standard exists for calculating how pain and suffering should be compensated. Pain and suffering is the result of personal injury caused by another person or company. They had continued to suffer because of God's mercy and patience, who did not let them go before they received His gracious gift of salvation. In order to make up for the loss of the servants tooth, this was to be done as compensation. This compensation comes from two main sources. Pain is based on personal experiences and the severity of a persons injuries. 17). Almost everyone is living with some kind of pain. L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See. The Pope enables us to penetrate into Revelation in order to move on to ascension in the mystery. we just need to trust Him. In other types of cases you may need to file a lawsuit or have your attorney share the merits of your case with the person or company who harmed you before they will offer a settlement. There are a variety of injuries that can result in pain and suffering settlements. The etymological root of the word helps us understand something about it: "mystery" derives from the Greek "M" or "M", which means closing the eyes, not in the sense of going about blind, but of closing the eyes if they are dazzled, such as occurs, for instance, when we look directly at the sun. The average slip and fall settlement is between $15,000 and $45,000 for total damages. This is the heart of Christianity. It's a wound thatby God's gracehas never fully healed so that I can truly empathize with others out of the very real pain I still feel. There are many other options available besides suing those who have wronged us. Feeling isolated is one of the hardest parts of suffering. I would like to introduce you to the concept of Christian arbitration. Prior to filing a lawsuit, a person should attempt to settle his claim before he . Oswald Chambers, Our Utmost for His Highest, September 1. This article is also available in Spanish. Emotional distress is a type of 'pain and suffering' damage. A hospital and a doctor have liability insurance to cover incidents that occur as a result of negligence on their part. You are learning both the tenderness and the clarity necessary to help sanctify another persons deepest distress. God is honored when disciples of Christ who earnestly desire to seek His will sit down together and work out their differences in a peaceful and respectful manner. The Bible tells us that the world is at enmity with God and at enmity with Christians. Despite this, verses 4 and 5 of that passage suggest that the dispute should be referred to a church member for resolution to resolve the issue. That can dictate the average amount of money in a pain and suffering settlement, with no state requiring less than $10,000 in coverage for bodily injury. Meghann Cuniff is a legal affairs journalist who is a veteran of daily newspapers and has deep experience reporting on complex civil litigation, including mass torts and class actions, securities cases, patent disputes and high-stakes litigation involving major tech companies. Tertullian said: "Credo quia ineptum".By experiencing relief from evil through suffering, and through that cruelest form of suffering which sums up all imaginable forms of suffering, the Cross, this "ineptum",becomes "aptum",the most just and rational that we can imagine, for it is the only way to experience happiness. His one aim is the production of saints. Many people are bothered by the fact that jury verdicts often seem to exceed the value of an injured partys damages in a case where the verdict was a defense verdict. Adapted from Complete Guide to Faith-Based Family Finances by Ron Blue. Romans 5:12 confirms that this happened after Adam's fall, "Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all . If God ordained it, then perhaps we should endure it in full strength. This is in addition to a separate amount covering the medical bills and lost work the plaintiff has as economic damages. That's what suffering will do for us. Take along one or two other people with you if he wont listen to you. 2023 Forbes Media LLC. Nevertheless, before suing anyone, including entities, Christians should ensure that the reasons for initiating the lawsuits are legitimate, lawful, biblical, and moral before they initiate the lawsuit. ibid.,n. Applying a biblical worldview to this difficult subject results in a distinctly different approach to suffering than our natural inclination of blame and self pity. The per diem method sets a dollar amount for each day the claimant experienced the pain and suffering and is expected to continue to experience it. He has kept you through pain; he has reshaped you more into his image. Only in love is it possible to find the saving response to pain. Those who suffer tend to have tender hearts toward others who are in pain. The question of whether or not a Christian should file a lawsuit for pain and suffering is not explicitly addressed in the Bible.. The perfect Plan A of God's beautiful, suffering-free creation was ruined when Adam and Eve fell. 3. Find a lawyer near you. It prepares us for heaven by teaching us how unfulfilling life on earth is and helping us develop an eternal perspective. Through Christ's solidarity with al humanity the human pain of all time; was suffered by Christ in his passion and his redeeming death. Losing heart is a great spiritual danger. The lack of meaning, the lack of direction, the radical anticulture, contradiction, death: in a fullness of meaning, of orientation, in an ascendant culture, in joyous affirmation, in life: folly and stupidity, in what is wisest and most sensible, it is the intimate solidarity of love triumphant that raises, in loving solidarity with the most atrocious suffering that kills. Suffering is powerfully able to get us back on track. But in order for someone to say those powerful words"I know just how you feel because I've been there"that person had to walk through the same difficult valley first. . To respond, the Pope leaves the areaof enigma and moves on to that of mystery. Christ himself is the One who was cared for, and the one who fell into the hands of bandits is cared for and helped. Matthew 5:25. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We all experience pain, and even suffering at some time in our lives. After many sleepless nights wracked by various kinds of pain, my friend Jan now knows what she was saved from. Suffering prepares us for more glory. Suffering develops holiness in unholy people. . Economic Losses. It further affirms that suffering is a punishment inflicted for self-correction, since good follows evil, leading to conversion and to rebuilding goodness (cf. . 1. It gets us closer to what we were created to becompletely dependent on God. As painful as it is, suffering strips away the distractions of life. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Advisor site. For we find ourselves in intimacy with the Blessed Trinity, in the loving reality of the unity of the Triune God and in the depths of this mystery. In Matthew 5:25, Jesus tells us that. Only by experiencing the mystery can we penetrate it with our minds. God causes far more pain and suffering than . Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damage that the victim has suffered. This amount is separate from lost wages and other medical expenses, such as x-rays, medications, and hospital visits. The number the economic damages are multiplied by will be lower for milder injuries, such as a bruised rib. In accepting it we become totally human through suffering-love; in rejecting it, on the contrary, we destroy ourselves as human beings through suffering and hatred. Exodus 21:27. Lawyer directory. He goes on to say: One of the most incredibly comforting things we can ever experience is someone else's tears for us. For all intents and purposes, this means that the doctor was officially serving as your physician for at least the period of time in which the negligence occurred. The mystery of suffering is contained in the mystery of Love, in the mystery of the Spirit. 2022 12 Aug. depression. Many states require motorists to carry insurance policies that guarantee a minimum amount of coverage. David Powlison answers this way: When youve passed through your own fiery trials, and found God to be true to what he says, you have real help to offer. Often times, yes. Paul explained what happens in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. In fact, our suffering is a sign of God's love. We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Overcoming Emotions That Destroy: Practical Help for Those Angry Feelings That Ruin Relationships. Of coverage regard it with complacency, extremely important goal for the Christian faith, not... Bills and lost work the plaintiff has as economic damages are multiplied will... 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