When most of us get injured, whether it be a sprain to the finger or an injury to the elbow, we can really see how such injury affects our daily life. Reaching for items becomes a chore, avoiding sleeping on the injured arm, difficulty in turning the steering wheel when driving, etc… These activities become magnified in our brain which would normally not be something we would even think about had it not been for the injury. It becomes aggravating when we have to think about all of our movements due to the injury. However, sooner or later, we all heal to some extent and we forget specifically all the pain and aggravation we went through.
Following injuries as a result of an accident, it is important to journalize each day of the pain, suffering, aggravation, etc… and how it has affected you. Because we all heal, many times my clients will forget about how the injury affected his or her daily life. Hence, it is difficult to recapture and explain the daily effects the injury had to a judge, mediator, or jury. By journalizing each day following the injury, you can use that journal to explain that on a certain day you only could sleep two hours, or that you could not lift a water bottle. These types of specific journal entries speak volumes when asking for compensation for pain and suffering. Rather than simply stating that he or she had pain for 3 months, it is certainly more effective when a client states for example that on Sunday, Oct. 4 he or she woke up and it took 12 minutes to walk 30 feet to the bathroom. The entry may also include that he or she did not eat breakfast or lunch due to the pain and the medication. Moreover, the entry may include that he or she had to get up every 10 minutes due to the pain in their low back and the journal may state that he or she went to bed a 8PM. A similar entry would be made for the following day, Oct. 5 and subsequent days thereafter.
I have found that when my clients journalize their injuries and the effects it has had on their daily life, the settlement and verdicts are greatly increased.
If you have been injured in an automobile accident or had some other catastrophic injury, please give me a call or visit my website by clicking here. I represent clients throughout the entire state of California.
