Q&A: Pain and suffering compensation
Pain and suffering compensation
Question
Does one have to pay compensation for pain and suffering if the pain is not immediate at the moment of the blow but only occurs later, or is that considered indirect causation? And what about pain and suffering that continues from the moment of the blow onward?
Answer
The medieval authorities (Rishonim) disagreed about this. See Tosafot, s.v. “Pain,” Ketubot 39a, and the Rosh on Bava Kamma, chapter 6, sec. 9. Perhaps this can be made dependent on the dispute among the tannaim (Bava Kamma 84b) whether there is liability for pain and suffering where there is no physical damage.
I did not understand what you mean by continuing pain and suffering. Do you mean that the pain itself continues over time? It seems obvious that this is like pain and suffering at the time of the blow.