By Callie
Experiencing a car accident is a jarring, often life-altering event. While the immediate aftermath is typically filled with insurance claims, medical visits, and repair appointments, it's the lasting effects, both physical and emotional, that often go unnoticed by anyone other than the victim. For residents of New Jersey, maintaining a personal journal after such an incident is not only therapeutic but can also be pivotal in ensuring a just settlement.
The Undeniable Benefits of Journaling Post-Accident:
A Real-time Account: Memory can be unreliable, especially over time. Recording daily entries ensures you capture the nuances of your pain, struggles, and recovery in real time, giving an accurate portrayal of your post-accident life.
Objective Pain Tracking: By rating your pain on a daily scale, you provide a tangible metric that showcases your journey from acute pain to recovery (or the unfortunate persistence of pain).
Highlighting Limitations: Activities you once took for granted – lifting your child, grocery shopping, or even getting out of bed – might now be challenging. Documenting these limitations can emphasize the tangible impact of the accident on your daily life.
Emotional and Mental Impact: Car accidents don't just lead to physical injuries. The mental trauma and subsequent emotional upheavals – anxiety, PTSD, depression – can be just as debilitating. Chronicling these struggles offers a holistic view of the accident's repercussions.
Evidence of Recovery Efforts: Your journal can also detail your efforts towards recovery – physiotherapy appointments, counseling sessions, and other treatments – demonstrating your proactive approach to healing.
Financial Strains: Out-of-pocket expenses, missed work hours, or the need for additional help at home can be noted, providing a clear picture of the financial impact of the accident.
Why a Personal Journal Can Influence Settlements:
Validity and Credibility: Legal and insurance proceedings often suffer from a lack of concrete evidence regarding pain and suffering. A well-maintained journal, consistent in its entries, adds credibility to your claims, making it difficult for insurers or opposing parties to contest your assertions.
Quantifying Non-Economic Damages: In legal terms, damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life are considered "non-economic damages." These are challenging to quantify. A journal offers a way to tangibly demonstrate these intangibles, potentially leading to a higher compensation.
Strengthening Your Legal Strategy: For attorneys, a personal journal is a gold mine. It provides them with the ammunition needed to build a compelling case, narrating a story that how did you get injured, what were your experiences and what kind of trauma did you feel after the accidents resonates with insurance adjusters, judges, or jurors.
To help you navigate this challenging process and build a strong case in the court of New Jersey that can secure a settlement for your injuries, you can rely on Rosengard Law Group. Their experienced personal injury attorneys understand the tactics that insurance companies use to weaken your position, and they will work diligently to handle your case effectively.
