How To Quantify Emotional Distress
An injury can have a severe impact on your life. Injuries, by nature, come unexpectedly. Therefore, there is no proper way to prepare for them fully or their consequences. But when they are brought about because of someone else’s negligent actions, you can launch a personal injury case.
When people begin this process, they often ask about how much money they can expect to reclaim. The answer to that question is highly dependent on the factors surrounding your accident. If your accident left you unable to work, calculating the amount of money you weren’t able to make is a fairly straightforward process for your attorney to do.
An experienced personal injury can determine a monetary value associated with your medical bills and future loss of income. But when it comes to the less tangible aspects of your case, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress, how will these values be established? How will opposing counsel argue against them?
Emotional Distress
Your personal injury attorney will dive deeper with the questions, but it is advantageous—and time-efficient—for you to consider these ahead of time. By understanding how this is determined, you can begin documenting to help your attorney build an argument.
In terms of what you should be documenting, think about how your injury impacted your life. Since your accident, what kind of impact has your mental health had on your work, marriage, or social life? Even if you are going to work but struggle with tasks that you didn’t previously challenge you, document them.
Your attorney is going to represent you and apply the law to your specific situation. The more you give him, the more he has to work with. Will he be able to use everything you give? That’s impossible to tell. But you stand only to gain by reporting these things to your lawyer.
Another important thing to note is that pre-existing conditions still apply. In other words, if you have a history of chronic back pain and you injured your back during the accident, that will be taken into account. Does it mean you aren’t entitled to compensation simply because of a pre-existing condition? No, it doesn’t. But if you have a medical history of a mental health issue, it will be considered the same way a physical pre-condition would.
The Law Office of William C. Robinson
With more than 35 years of intensive civil litigation experience, attorney William C. Robinson can be your biggest asset and ally during your personal injury case. To schedule a free consultation, contact The Law Office of William C. Robinson. We have a passion for finding equal justice for everyone under the law, and we want to do that for you as well.
