Chronic pain affects all of us at one point or another. Sometimes it can develop due to a pre-existing medical condition, but other times it might be caused by accident. If it’s the latter, and it’s not your fault, what can you do about it?
If you or a loved one experiences persistent pain and someone else caused it, you could turn to a professional lawyer specializing in chronic pain. They could help you make a claim and get the compensation you or your loved one deserve. We’ll now look at how you can do this in greater detail.
What Qualifies as Chronic Pain?
Symptoms related to pain often subside a short while after you’ve undergone surgery or specific medical treatments. However, if you’re still suffering from pain after 12 weeks, this is what’s classed as chronic pain despite further treatment or medication. Also, chronic pain can develop without any prior warning or history of illness.
Effects of Chronic Pain on Your Body
Suffering from constant pain can very quickly harm more than your body. Your mental health is also at risk, as the pain may feel relentless and exhausting to cope with. As such, these are typical side effects related to chronic pain:
- Altered perceptions and cognition
- Depression
- Stress
- Mood fluctuations
- Emotional instability
- Anxiety
When to Sue for Chronic Pain
If your chronic pain was brought about due to another person’s actions, whether intentional or negligent, there’s a chance you could launch a personal injury claim. A personal injury lawyer can help you recover damages as fitting compensation for any chronic pain you have.
Personal injury lawyers deal with many different types of cases, too. If you’re not entirely sure if what happened to you counts as a personal injury claim, you can find out more by consulting a professional firm in your area.
When you’re seeking damages, the effects and symptoms of chronic pain can be different for everybody and therefore vary between claims. As an example, you can see what we class as pain and suffering due to a car accident here.
Regarding chronic pain, pain and suffering is typically calculated this way:
Special damages are often straightforward because they’re usually your economic losses, e.g., loss of earnings. However, this doesn’t mean that negotiating compensation is straightforward. You may well have to broker the amount of your pain and suffering damages to a greater degree than in other claims.
Once you’ve decided on the value of your claim and know the sort of settlement you deserve, the negotiation process starts. You can kick it off with the help of an attorney by contacting the relevant insurance company.
You’ll need to send them a demand letter, which outlines the situation, describes your injuries and ends with a proposed settlement offer. Your initial request should never be lower than what you hope to claim; start with a higher amount, so there’s room to negotiate.
Negotiating Settlement for Chronic Pain and Suffering
When you’re seeking damages, the effects and symptoms of chronic pain can be different for everybody and therefore vary between claims. As an example, you can see what we class as pain and suffering due to a car accident here.
Regarding chronic pain, pain and suffering is typically calculated this way:
Special damages are often straightforward because they’re usually your economic losses, e.g., loss of earnings. However, this doesn’t mean that negotiating compensation is straightforward. You may well have to broker the amount of your pain and suffering damages to a greater degree than in other claims.
Once you’ve decided on the value of your claim and know the sort of settlement you deserve, the negotiation process starts. You can kick it off with the help of an attorney by contacting the relevant insurance company.
You’ll need to send them a demand letter, which outlines the situation, describes your injuries and ends with a proposed settlement offer. Your initial request should never be lower than what you hope to claim; start with a higher amount, so there’s room to negotiate.
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Chronic Pain Information |
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Difference Between Chronic Pain and Chronic Pain Syndrome |
Chronic pain is when your symptoms last for at least another three months, or even more than six months. Chronic pain syndrome (CPS) is when you have additional symptoms other than pain, such as stress and depression. |
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Effects of Untreated Chronic Pain |
Untreated chronic pain can lead to a more significant strain on your mental health and cause effects like insomnia, marriage or family problems, irritability, and, in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. |
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Four Types of Pain |
Nociceptive Pain: Examples include arthritis, pain, and post-surgical (tissue damage) pain. Inflammatory Pain: Examples include rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Neuropathic Pain: Examples include neuropathy and trigeminal neuralgia. Functional Pain: Examples include irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia. |
Do You Need a Lawyer for Chronic Pain and Suffering?
While it’s possible to launch a personal injury claim on your own, it’s always a good idea to consult with an experienced chronic pain lawyer. They can help you come up with a moderate pain and suffering damages amount, for starters. Here at Diamond and Diamond Alberta, our personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and experience to calculate a maximized amount of damages for you.
Protect your rights if you’re suffering from chronic pain due to another person’s actions. Talk to an Alberta personal injury lawyer from Diamond & Diamond Law now.
It’s always ideal to consult with a personal injury lawyer who has had experience handling chronic pain injury claims in the past.
Chronic Pain Lawyer
Chronic Pain Lawyer FAQs
What do you need to make a chronic pain injury claim?
The most important thing to do is clarify that the opposing party is to blame for your chronic pain. This involves establishing their negligence, so you’ll need as much evidence to support your claim as possible. Consulting with a specialist lawyer will help you build a compelling case.
What are some pitfalls in representing clients with chronic pain?
An opposing party will try to discredit a chronic pain case. For example, they may claim the pain is psychological rather than physical. A personal injury lawyer has to consider how to combat these tactics. If you suffer from chronic pain, you can help your case by compiling relevant medical reports.
How do you answer the pain scale question from the doctor when you are in chronic pain?
Chronic and persistent pain can be tough to objectively rate, as it may feel like a 9 or 10 (unbearable pain) but medically might be classed closer to a 6 or 7 (severe pain). Consider how the pain affects your day-to-day life. If you legitimately can’t even speak or think coherently, then that’s a 9 or 10. If you can function relatively normally, except you perhaps suffer insomnia or a consistent lack of focus, that’d be a 6 or 7.