For those hurt by a careless driver, dealing with the effects of the accident on your life can be challenging. There are several different categories of compensation owed to accident victims, and one of the most valuable might be pain and suffering. To be paid for pain and suffering, one has to ensure they can prove how the accident has negatively affected their life. Read on to learn more about keeping up with your pain and suffering.
Memories Can Fade
Unless your case settles quickly, your personal injury case could last for several months. If you add to that the way traumatic events tend to be forgotten, you might have a difficult time remembering key facets of your case. You will need to be able to speak about the way the wreck has affected your life several times during the course of your case. For example, you will need to recall the accident and your recovery period when you speak with your auto accident lawyer about your case, when you testify at your deposition, and during the trial.
Keeping Up With the Situation
The best way of ensuring that you remember the wreck, and all that follows, is to keep a journal. Begin using your journal as soon as you are able and record everything that you can remember as soon as possible. This record of your journey from being in a wreck and hurt and while you go through the healing process is not just useful in the legal manner, but it can be very therapeutic.
Make Note of Your Medical Treatment and Progress
Some people are not aware of how important it is to keep up with your medical treatment. After all, the insurance company is probably paying your medical bills. Your medical expenses, however, are not just another form of compensation. The dollar amount of your medical expenses are used to form the basis of your payment for pain and suffering.
Changes in Your Quality of Life
Finally, your journal should be used to show how the accident has affected your emotional well-being. Pain and suffering is all about how the wreck and your physical injuries has impacted your enjoyment of living. Your journal is used together with your medical expenses number to form a starting point for your pain and suffering award. The more you can show in your own words the impact the entire incident has had on you, the more you might be paid as a result.
To learn more about this aspect of your personal injury claim, speak to an attorney.
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