Rated 5, 0 (52) · The best way to document pain and suffering is to keep a personal diary of your pain and the limitations you imposed on it. You can use visual evidence to document if your recovery process was particularly slow or if you required additional medical attention. In addition, you can use photos and recordings to show a contrast between your life before the injury occurred and your current one. For example, if you used to play soccer and now you can barely kick a ball, video evidence can prove your point of view. Like visual evidence, medical records are key when considering how to document pain and suffering.
Immediate records, such as emergency room documentation, show the severity of your injury and whether you received the right treatment. These challenges are recorded in your medical record, along with your physical experience of pain. Your lawyer can use copies of your medical records to support your personal injury claim. In addition to physical pain, you may also have trouble sleeping. If your doctor prescribes a sleeping pill, this is medical documentation about insomnia or chronic nightmares.
Your attorney can employ several methods to prove pain and suffering in your personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuit. If you are the victim of a personal injury accident, your experiences are valid and your pain and suffering deserve to be recognized. Tackling a personal injury case can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to establishing the extent of your pain and suffering. However, there are ways to document your loss so that your personal injury lawyer can present your case clearly during negotiations with the insurance company or when litigating in court.
Gathering compelling and irrefutable evidence is critical to demonstrating pain and suffering during the personal injury claim process. Injury attorneys often recommend that victims who have suffered significant injuries keep a journal documenting their pain and suffering. Each state will have a statute of limitations for filing any civil lawsuit, including claims for personal injury and pain and suffering. While it may seem harder to quantify compared to medical expenses or lost wages, being able to demonstrate pain and suffering is important for the types of personal injury damages you can claim in your case.
Your personal injury attorney and the at-fault party's insurance company will negotiate the amount of damages for pain and suffering based on the same formula your lawyer used to estimate this non-economic damage. Other injuries and their long-term sequelae can also constitute pain and suffering, depending on the cause of the initial injuries. If you suffered personal injuries due to someone else's negligence, you can receive compensation for both physical pain and suffering and emotional pain and suffering. Your personal injury attorney will use the travel (or per day) method or the multiplier method to determine the amount of compensation for pain and suffering to which you are entitled.
That's why it's important to know how to document pain and suffering in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Documenting your physical injuries is also important, as it helps show the severity of those injuries.