Personal injury victims often have a long way to go until they get their financial compensation. From picking out the right attorney to building their case, they'll have their work cut out for them. Most people may wonder: "How can I prove my pain and suffering?” We delve into this question below to help any personal injury victim win their case.
What Counts as Pain and Suffering?
When it comes to personal injury victims, they can suffer multiple trauma. The accident that is making them take their case to court might leave them with both physical and mental injuries. As a rule of thumb, personal injury victims find themselves in poor condition after the accident. In some cases, it might take them a long time to recover and get their lives back to normal.
In the best-case scenario, personal injury victims have to stay at home for a while and recover. Due to their physical injuries, they're often unable to go to work and live their regular lives. Some of these people might also need another person taking care of them for a while, incurring extra expenses.
And if worse comes to worst, a personal injury victim might even end up hospitalized. As before, this will make them lose wages since they won't be able to work. But more importantly, they'll be faced with a fair share of medical bills to take care of. Whatever the case, victims ought to look for a law firm that will increase their chances of winning and getting the financial compensation they deserve.
Now, car accident lawyers in Des Moines IA have to show that their client has truly suffered physical and mental trauma as a result of the injury. Achieving this is no easy task, but the best personal injury attorneys will know how to go about doing it. Proving their client's pain and suffering presupposes the personal injury victim has endured physical and/or mental pain. Also, there should be another party whose negligence is to blame for this person's injuries, which may include:
● physical pain
● emotional distress
● loss of self-esteem
● disruption of a normal or regular way of life
How to Prove Pain and Suffering in Court
Before taking their case to court, any personal injury victim needs to know that no two cases are the same. While they may be entitled to financial compensation, the exact sum of money can vary significantly and will depend on many factors. To begin with, it's important how severe their physical and mental injuries are. But the truth is, weighing the severity of trauma after an accident is never easy.
Most insurance companies use computers to calculate the victim's pain and suffering damages. One program — the Multiplier method — calculates the value of their economic losses and expenses, like lost wages and medical bills. The other one — the Per Diem method — assigns an established amount of money this person gets for any day of experiencing pain and suffering.
If the lawyer needs to prove their client's trauma, they can present several important documents in their client's favor. These usually include any relevant medical and/or psychiatric records dating from both before and after the accident.
The proof of pain and suffering can also be a poor medical prognosis. In other words, the victim might still have a long way to go before they recover completely. It is important to remember that the phrase “pain and suffering” includes future pain and suffering too.
In addition, the attorney can use pictures of the victim's physical injuries taken right after the accident. For example, their client might have debilitating physical impairments or deformities.
Another way to go about it is to include witness statements or have experts testify in the plaintiff's favor.
Last but not least, the attorney can show their client's medical bills as proof of their pain and suffering. They can also contact their employer to state the number of wages the client has lost.
Final Remarks
Taking a personal injury case to court shouldn't be that hard. However, proving someone's pain after the accident is a complex process. Perhaps the most important stage is collecting all the evidence testifying in favor of the victim's pain and suffering. This is why it is also important to call the police even after a minor car accident.
Fortunately, Tom Fowler Law experts are always here to help out any personal injury victim get the compensation they deserve.