Louisiana Auto Accident Attorneys: Ways To Prove Pain and Suffering
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Louisiana car accident, the injured victim has a right to make a claim for compensation, including compensation for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is one of the many categories of damages that can be sought by victims of negligent and wrongful behavior here in Louisiana. Other damage categories include compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, costs to repair vehicles, etc.
As a category of damages, pain and suffering can be tricky to prove. Mainly, this is because pain and suffering is not a physical thing, and there are no documents that prove "pain and suffering". Injuries can be shown by medical records and photographs showing bruises, lacerations, and broken bones. Likewise, medical bills and the like can be proven with actual invoices from the service providers. This method of proof is not the case with pain and suffering. The insurance investigator or the jury will have to make an estimate of how much the victim's pain and suffering is worth. Pain and suffering is subjective and is inferred.
That being said, experienced Shreveport auto accident attorneys know various methods of helping to prove pain and suffering. One method is to use the evidence of medical bills and expenses as a surrogate for the amount of pain and suffering. A Louisiana car accident that results in $100,000 in medical bills logically will typically involve more pain and suffering than an accident with only $10,000 in medical bills. Pain and suffering occurs at various points in a Louisiana car accident. It occurs just before, during, and after the actual accident. Then, pain and suffering occurs during the medical treatment phase. A surgery, for example, is painful (even though most people have anesthesia to dull and dampen the pain). Then, there can be a lot of suffering and pain as the body heals and if there is any need for rehabilitation. The more rehabilitation involved and the longer the healing process takes, the more the victim has been in pain and has suffered. Thus, the totality of the medical bills can be used as an estimate of how much the victim's pain and suffering is worth.
Photographs are another type of evidence that can help prove what pain and suffering is worth. As with the severity of the injuries, a severe crash can help a jury believe that the victim has suffered greatly. Likewise, photos of the vehicles and the scene of the accident can be used in this manner. In addition, photos of the actual injuries, bruising, physical therapy efforts, etc. can be used to visually show the level of pain that the victim suffered.
Another method of proving pain and suffering is to provide reports and/or testimony from treating doctors and family members who have observed how the accident caused suffering. Testimony from your own providers, family members, co-workers, etc. who have seen you firsthand can be very compelling in front of a jury.
Finally, there are some other types of evidence that can be used. Victims are often asked to keep a journal/diary following an accident. The purpose is not necessarily to write about the pain but about how the victim's life was disrupted. Thus, for example, sleepless nights might be listed along with the inability to do things that were once commonplace. How much detail is depicted in a diary depends on the person writing in the diary.
Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today
For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams, LLC. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full compensation you are entitled to according to Louisiana law. To contact us and schedule a consultation, complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may significantly benefit by having an attorney with legal competence and experience assist you with your Louisiana personal injury case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading this blog post and visiting our website.