Legal Memorandum: Proving Future Pain and Suffering Damages

Issue: Under Illinois law, what proof is required to support an award of future pain and suffering?

Future pain and suffering damages may be awarded, and no special type of proof is necessary.  Under Illinois law, “[e]vidence of future pain and suffering may be rendered by an expert, elicited from the plaintiff or inferred from the nature of an injury.”  Neyzelman v. Treitman, 273 Ill. App. 3d 511, 517, 652 N.E.2d 1300, 1305 (1995) (citations omitted).  Additionally, the courts have held that when future pain and suffering can be determined objectively from the nature of the injury, the jury may be instructed on this item of damages “based on lay testimony alone or even in the absence of any testimony on the subject.”  Id. at 517, 652 N.E.2d at 1305.

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