After you’ve been in an automobile accident, or any type of accident that resulted in an injury, you’ll find yourself left with pain, suffering and possibly functional limitations. Your individual pain and suffering that you experience after an accident will signify a major component of your future lawsuit or legal claim. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly document your pain and suffering throughout your recovery.

Pain and Suffering is Difficult to Prove

Since pain and suffering can make or break a case, it’s a significant factor that is a challenge to prove in the court of law. You need to take every necessary step you can to document your experiences following the accident or injury that was caused by someone else being negligent.

Keep a Simple Journal

The easiest and most effect step to take is to keep a journal. With every journal entry, discuss the pain and suffering you experienced that day. Be as detailed as you can in order to make a compelling case for the legitimacy of your case. You don’t need to make this an overcomplicated or even time consuming process; simply record your daily experiences before bed each night (or whenever works for you).

Make note of when you feel pain, where you feel it and what motions it’s inhibiting. Include the time and date of every journal entry. Additionally, it’s worth developing a rating system so that you can assign a numerical value to your pain. A simple 1-10 system is often all that’s required. A ‘one’ represents minimal pain, while 10 represents intense pain.

If you experience any persistent pain, be sure to record this in your pain journal. Discuss what’s hurting, how long it hurts and what, if anything, provides any relief.

Retain All Medical Documents

It’s vital for your case that you retain a copy of all medical documents related to life in the aftermath of your accident or injury. Keep everything the doctor gives you, and even write about each visit in your pain journal. Not only does keeping all medical documents help prove pain, but it will also help prove the financial burden that’s been placed on you since the accident. You can staple important documents to your journal, or simply keep them in a folder.

Consider Hiring the Professionals

Working with a personal injury lawyer will be advantageous to documenting and proving your pain. These specially trained lawyers are skilled at knowing what the courts need to see in order to prove the hardships caused by the accident or injury. Contact us today to setup an appointment to determine how we can best protect your interests in your personal injury case.

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