Personal Injury Diary in Georgia Personal Injury Lawsuit

As an Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer I know the value of a good memory in a personal injury lawsuit. This article from the McDonough Personal Injury Lawyer is about keeping a diary for Georgia personal injury claims. Having a pain diary is not a requirement of any case. It helps your case, but is not a must. However, taking the time to prepare one will add significant substance to your insurance claim.

What is the Purpose of a Pain Diary?

Diary—Barnaby (Flickr.com)

The purpose of a pain diary to be able to show the effect the accident has had on your life. It is difficult to remember all of the times that you felt pain. How could you? Think of the diary as a history of the accident and the effect on your life. The purpose of it is to document each injury and the level of pain and suffering. This will be used in pretrial litigation negotiations to help settle the personal injury case with the insurance company of the at-fault driver. If negotiations fail, then the diary would be used at trial to show how the accident had a serious effect on your daily life. To be able to list a series of changes in your daily routine is much more effective than just saying your were injured for a period of time. The addition of actual specific facts adds color to your file and makes your file more than just a file, but a real person.

What Goes Into a Pain Diary?

List of witnesses that can give testimony about pain you suffered or change in daily life. These witness would likely include neighbors, friends, family and people with whom you work.
Description of pain and suffering while you are healing. Describing how the car accident caused you pain over the course of your treatment adds validity and additional elements of proof that can be used at trial and during the negotiations prior to filing of the legal complaint.
Start at the top of your head and list all of the injuries moving down. That way you can keep a level of consistency and do not leave out any injuries.
Effect on your life after the accident. How are things different? What daily items or routines have changed because of the accident?
Days you missed from work. Although it will be important to have a wage verification letter from your employer, but this will help identify any errors if they may occur.

How good is your memory? Probably, like everyone else, is remembers what it wants to. How well will you remember the details of your Georgia car accident? Some things you may never forget, others you never knew they were happening. Did you see the …? No. You were seeing the other car coming at you, not what time it was. The same thing when your are recovering from a personal injury. One of the best witness in your personal injury suit is you. But you, like everyone, can forget the little details of life. A Pain Diary in a Personal Injury Case solves this problem and more.

personal injury diary

When you write down each time your life changed because of the injury, or every time you suffered pain or worry, you are helping your case. If brushing your hair or taking a shower caused pain, jot it down. Insurance companies and jurors in an auto accident case can understand these examples. Further, as your Injury Lawyer or Atlanta Car Accident Attorney, I can use this to better explain your full pain and suffering. When you put dates with these notations, you are creating a timeline that helps explain the duration and depth of your pain.

Representing clients in Jackson, McDonough, Griffin, Stockbridge, Decatur, Atlanta, Marietta, Macon, Butts County, Henry County, Clayton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, Jasper County, Bibb County, Monroe County, Fulton County, Spalding County and all of Georgia as their personal injury lawyer and their car accident attorney. If you need more information on personal injury diaries and pain diaries from an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, call my office at 404-381-8584.