How to Document Pain and Suffering After a Car Accident

Many things do happen after an accident, making it almost impossible to recall every event.

It doesn’t matter if it was a fatal accident, but over time accident details start becoming unclear. As the brain works to accommodate all the accident memory, it also works to forget the trauma caused.

It is, however, essential to preserve such detailed memory since lawsuits and insurance claims operate on facts. By doing so, it aids in building a strong case later on as it helps you concentrate on healing.

There are several ways to keep the memory of the accident and ensure you do not forget. One way needs you to write a post-accident journal: This journal is not like any other diaries but precisely used for noting symptoms, accident details, and medical appointments. It helps in recalling the forgotten scene of the accident while acting as quality facts presented.

Provide an explanation for accident specifics

If you are in a posting to record after receiving medical attention, this is what you should keep in mind.

• The quality of the road
• The weather conditions
• How the events were before the accident
• If the driver’s seatbelt was on
• Any encountered distraction while driving
• Sun glare
• The mental state of the driver at the time of the accident
  
  

The above-highlighted events are equally important since it’s incorporated in the insurance claim and accident report. The events also can be included in the post-accident report since it’s better to have every detail in one place. 

The moment you have in hand all the specific details, you now focus on healing. However, it is advisable not to assume the role of an investigative reporter. Meaning, do everything in your capacity to help in the case but do not interfere with the case. 

Conversation with the agents, witness, and officers

It is quite vital to keep track of talks and interviews of the essential parties in the case. These parties include the witness, officer, among other influential people who play a crucial role in the case. It is also essential to write down the critical points of the conversation. This will be used in case one the parties try to dissuade you. It’s the role of your attorney to handle the noted conversation in arguing or validating the evidence. 

Keeping track of the conversation is essential since the lawyers assume bulk work. Hence, by the time he or she appears, you will have talked to many people. Some of these critical people will not be there later on; however, having records helps in contacting them. Because the brain deals with the pain, it’s unlikely to recall where these people work and their names. Some witnesses might have left the state, but having their contacts gives you a leg up when finding them.

Medication, visits to doctors, and pain symptoms

Keeping track of the medication, pain, and suffering in the post-accident journal is the most vital thing. It strengthens the case and gives the lawyer an easy time when arguing your case. The reason behind being, the details are the determinate, measurable output of agony. 

For instance, the notebook helps in showing the consistency of pain. Let’s say the pain scale ranges from 6-8 out of 10. Likewise, it explains that you regularly use narcotics to relieve the pain. The lawyer can present such detailed evidence since it’s quantifiable and specific. Rather than using vague statements, for instance, “my neck hurts.”

Besides, use vocabulary and adjectives that paint a clear picture of the level of pain you are experiencing. For instance, you describe pain, “grinding, pulsing, and stabbing. Put it in this context: feels like a rusted knife screwing the joint on the shoulder. “My spinal cord hurts as if it’s grinding on rough terrain. Using such adjectives and vocabularies paint how the pain feels; hence the jury can feel a reason with the pain.

The provision of such a detailed description gives the doctor an understanding of what treatment you should receive. You have to note down every conversation psychiatrist, chiropractor, or physician who treats you. Furthermore, take note of their contact information together with what they prescribed.

Taking notes of the pain and suffering treatments also helps the doctors determine if their effort is yielding fruits. In doing so, doctors may recommend alternative treatment or continue using the same medications. Consequentially, the jury will now have the evidence of the medical appointments through the kept journal. It ascertains that the given plaintiff is indeed injured. The journal, together with other vital evidence, helps in building a strong case.

Daily Challenges

Not only does the journal show the treatment progress, but it also shows the daily challenges. The jury becomes convinced with proof showing what you could do before and what you cannot do after the accident. The constant daily limitation both at home and at work acts as a base to determine if the case dies or lives. However, when you have all the records showing what you cannot do, convinces the jury to a considerable extent. 

A lot of individuals feel that this journal invades the privacy of a person. You should keep in mind that no record proofs you had a conversation with the psychiatrist. Without forgetting that the experts have bulk tasks hence recalling the exact conversation proves difficult. It’s advisable that you only confine the journal to the expert involved with the case.

Most injured areas are parts of the body, but the pain becomes invisible. You might appear to be okay, but you are in a lot of pain, making the jury not awarding proper settlement.

It’s the responsibility of you and your journal to prove the pain experienced so that the jury understands. In some cases, the journal acts as a bridge for the provision of the proper award.

When you have the details noted down, it provides a platform for easy remembrance when asked questions. Sometimes, the insurers use previous forgotten events to dissuade the jury not to award you appropriately.

Keeping the journal also helps you focus on getting better. When you visit a psychiatrist, the details given might be essential later on when you experience the same severe. Overall don’t give up with the process but aspire to get better day in day out.