As personal injury attorneys, we’ve often witnessed the devastating effects of chronic pain experienced by our clients and understand how much that suffering can upend a person’s life. We also know how life-changing a favorable settlement or verdict can be for them. Our legal team works tirelessly to prove the link between the accident, the injuries, and a client’s pain and suffering.
If you’re struggling with chronic pain after a car accident, here’s what you need to know about the legal process.
In This Article:
- Can I file a lawsuit for chronic pain after a car crash?
- How does an attorney prove my pain stems from the accident?
- How does an attorney demonstrate the nature of chronic pain?
- How much will my case be worth?
Can I file a lawsuit for chronic pain after a car crash?
Some degree of pain is common after most car accidents. The force of the impact can leave victims sore for days or weeks. But the requirements to have a personal injury claim can vary state by state – in New York, for example, you must first meet the serious injury threshold for accident-related injuries. Though chronic pain alone does not meet that threshold, most intense or long-lasting pain can be tied back to injuries or physical limitations sustained in or worsened by the crash.
When your attorney files the claim for your accident, he or she should allege that you have sustained either a fresh injury or an exacerbation of a preexisting injury (see more information below on exacerbation claims). The chronic pain you live with as a result of that injury will be accounted for in any claims based on your pain and suffering. It may also be factored in as part of your economic damage claims if you sought medical care to manage the pain or if your injury is anticipated to require future medical care.
Exacerbation Claims
Exacerbation claims allow victims to recover compensation from accidents that caused their preexisting conditions to flare up or worsen.
Exacerbation claims are a powerful tool for plaintiffs who have extensive medical histories. Many of our clients fear that their preexisting conditions – particularly conditions that cause chronic pain – will prevent them from filing a successful lawsuit. However, making an exacerbation claim means that their attorneys will not need to prove that their pain is new, just that the pain has gotten worse.
Moreover, exacerbation claims can still lead to significant compensation – one of our attorneys once obtained a $4,011,000 verdict in an exacerbation case, which remains among the largest exacerbation verdicts in the Bronx County courthouses.
Similarly, another Block O’Toole & Murphy attorney handled a case for a lifelong construction worker with a long history of neck pain. Though he had been receiving consistent treatment for his condition, the pain did not markedly interfere with his life until after the subject accident, when it intensified to such a degree that he could no longer work, exercise, or continue his usual activities.
In this case, our attorneys were able to make an exacerbation claim, ultimately settling the case for $2,190,000. Though our client’s neck pain pre-dated the accident, it only became debilitating after the accident worsened his condition. This is a key element of exacerbation claims – the ability to prove that a worsening of a plaintiff’s condition had a noticeable effect on his life, one that would not have manifested if the accident had never occurred.
How does an attorney prove my pain stems from the accident?
Sometimes, the correlation between an accident and your injuries is indisputable: If, for example, your lawyer is bringing forth a fresh injury claim because your leg was crushed in a side-impact motor vehicle collision, it’s obvious that the accident caused the injury and associated pain. In exacerbation claims, however, it can be more difficult to attribute your pain to a certain event – many defense attorneys will try to argue that all your pain stems from the preexisting condition.
Skilled attorneys can use multiple strategies to solidify the link between the accident and your current pain, which may include:
- Testimony from medical experts. Doctors, particularly those who have treated our clients, can use medical records, diagnostic tests, and treatment histories to establish the extent of a client’s pain. Data is indisputable – by using medical records to highlight the number of doctor visits, prescriptions, and attempted treatments a client sought post-accident, your doctor is well-positioned to offer concrete evidence that is difficult for a jury to dismiss.
- Testimony from engineering or accident reconstruction experts. By looking at the speed, direction, and property damage of the vehicles involved in your accident, these experts explain how an injury occurred or worsened. They examine elements like the points of impact, the amount of force, and the angle of each vehicle to draw the line between specific accident details and your pain.
- Photo, video, and other data. Combined with expert witness testimony, this type of evidence can make it clear that an accident was severe enough to cause further injury. Seeing the damage to a car or the surrounding property can help the jury imagine how the accident translated to a specific injury. For example, seeing that a vehicle was crushed on the passenger’s side can indicate that the passenger likely bore the worst of the impact.
How does an attorney demonstrate the impact of chronic pain?
While pain tends to be invisible, it’s an attorney’s job to make that pain – and its accompanying losses – visible to the judge, jury, or insurance company. Our attorneys have done so in the following ways:
- Personal testimony. It’s often uncomfortable to share intimate details about your pain and recovery with strangers, but your attorney can help you feel more at ease when telling the jury your story. We’ve had clients discuss not being able to go back to jobs they loved or play with their children to show exactly what has been taken from them since the accident.
- Witness testimony. The people around you can also offer important perspectives on your pain. Maybe your spouse talks about the struggle of seeing you withdraw and stay in bed, or perhaps your child talks about the bike rides you once took together. This adds another dimension to your story and allows jurors to better understand your case from different perspectives that may resonate more for them.
- Before-and-after comparisons. Your attorney may use pictures, videos, and details from your life before and after the accident to visually demonstrate what was lost, beyond just physical health.
How much will my case be worth?
It’s impossible for your attorney to know exactly how much your case is worth. He or she may give you an estimate after collecting and analyzing the evidence, but nothing is set in stone until the final settlement or verdict.
Still, when determining compensation, juries, judges, and insurance adjusters will look at a few key factors, particularly pain and suffering, physical loss or limitations, economic damages, and medical costs.
Many of these things are connected – if you lose a leg in a car crash, you don’t just lose your physical abilities; you may also lose your ability to earn a living and support your family. Additionally, leg amputations are serious medical procedures that require consistent follow-up with medical professionals. The doctor, hospital, and rehabilitation bills will quickly start to pile up.
Pain and suffering can be difficult to value, as there’s no scientific way to measure how much pain you endured or how much “enjoyment of life” you lost. These things can only be conveyed through your testimony, reinforced by the evidence your attorney presents.
Powerful testimony can play a pivotal role in a jury’s decision. An experienced and effective attorney helps the jury understand the differences in a client’s life. For example, testimony about how an injured person needs the assistance of others to perform simple, mundane activities – like showering or getting dressed – can be quite impactful for a jury to hear. Equally as powerful is when a client testifies about their current inability to pursue their passions, like running or repairing old cars.
Finally, it can be particularly moving for juries to hear about the crippling impact your injuries have had on your spirit, your family, and your finances. Losing the ability to work and support your family because of an injury can be devastating, and when you convey that feeling through emotional testimony, jurors develop a better understanding of your pain.
When evaluating your case, the judge or jury will examine these elements in trying to arrive at a fair and just compensation amount.
Consult BOM for a Free Legal Consultation
If you have any questions about how chronic pain may impact your auto injury case, please reach out to one of our seasoned attorneys for a free legal consultation. Block O’Toole & Murphy achieves landmark results for clients throughout New York and New Jersey, including $110 million and $53.5 million jury verdicts.