If you’ve ever been injured in a car accident, you know the unfortunate reality is that not all pain heals. Most injuries - such as broken bones, cuts, and bruises - do heal, but many people continue to suffer from chronic pain after a car accident injury.
Chronic pain can last for years and can truly affect your quality of life. While we may not be able to help you with your physical pain, as personal injury attorneys, we can make sure that all the surrounding stress that car accidents cause will be our problem, not yours, which allows you the peace of mind to focus exclusively on healing. We will also make sure that any chronic pain you’re suffering from is persuasively presented to the insurance company so that you are compensated fairly.
How Can Car Accident Attorneys Get Insurance Companies to Pay for Your Chronic Pain?
You can recover compensation for chronic pain if you were injured in a Massachusetts car accident. Chronic pain, if proven, is considered part of your damages that your personal injury attorney can recover on your behalf.
Chronic pain is considered a long-term or permanent injury. The available compensation for chronic pain depends on various factors as it is distinct from a direct cost associated with your injuries, such as a medical bill, lost wages, or out-of-pocket expenses.
Unfortunately, many forms of chronic pain might not be curable but instead require life-long symptom management. Because of this, a car accident attorney can claim future damages for chronic pain, including the physical, mental and emotional toll it takes.
In order to have a chronic pain claim succeed, it’s important to be able to prove that the pain is a result of your car accident injuries.
If you want to be compensated for your chronic pain, your complaints of pain should be well documented, meaning they should appear in a medical record. Being honest and providing a full explanation of your pain to your doctors and medical care professionals is important not only for an accurate diagnosis and treatment but also to prove to the always suspicious insurance companies that you really are suffering. Chronic pain is a less obvious injury, so it’s especially important to make sure it is documented well. Learn more about the importance of medical records in our blog here.
Common Types of Chronic Pain We See In Massachusetts Car Accident Victims
Chronic pain is considered pain that lasts more than 3 months after a car accident. Unfortunately, chronic pain is common after car accidents. It’s estimated that up to about 13% of adults live with chronic pain, and car accidents are one of the leading causes, according to the National Institutes of Health. A car accident can also weaken your body and make you more vulnerable to additional injuries.
Top car accident injuries that often result in chronic pain:
- Head Injuries: Concussions are a very common car accident injury. As a type of traumatic brain injury, the consequences can be severe and long-lasting. Symptoms include headaches, severe migraines, insomnia, and more. Some people continue to struggle with debilitating symptoms for the rest of their lives.
- Back Injuries: Back injuries from car accidents are extremely common. Many people experience long-term back pain that bothers them when sitting for prolonged periods of time, or causes pain when bending, standing, or during other basic transitions and movements. Back injuries can be especially life-altering for people who were formerly very physically fit or athletic.
- Neck Injuries and Whiplash: Whiplash symptoms commonly last for 6 to 8 weeks after a car accident but can last for years if not treated appropriately. Whiplash happens when your head is jolted back and forth in a car accident, causing injuries to the tendons and muscles in your neck.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Soft-tissue injuries are among the most common car accident injuries. Whiplash is one example of a soft-tissue injury. When your body shifts in different directions after the impact of a collision in a car accident, it can cause tiny tears in your body’s soft tissues. Soft tissue injuries include any injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments such as sprains, strains, and tendonitis.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: One of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries is motor vehicle accidents. Spinal injuries can severely damage a person’s back, neck, or spine and, depending on the type of injury, could result in needing surgery, years of rehabilitation, or even loss of mobility. Spinal injuries also include herniated discs, which can be sources of incredible chronic pain.
Your Chronic Pain After a Car Accident is Worth Something
In Massachusetts, your pain and suffering is worth something. For most car accident victims to be eligible for pain and suffering damages, such as chronic pain, they need to incur at least $2,000 in medical expenses resulting from the car accident injuries. Frankly, that $2,000 threshold is not hard to meet if you were injured. If you see several doctors, or get imaging such as MRIs or X rays done, you are likely very close to this minimal threshold. Ongoing care such as physical therapy, chiropractor visits, and other forms of rehab also quickly add to your medical care bills.
The law does not explicitly spell out how pain and suffering should be quantified, but our courts have applied some guidelines that jurors can follow when reaching a verdict. We fight every day to ensure that our clients are fairly compensated for their chronic pain.
Injured in a Massachusetts’ Car Accident? Call or Text Spada Law Group for a Free Consultation
We’ve helped thousands of people in Massachusetts over the last 30 years get the recovery they need after a car accident. In fact, Spada Law Group has been recognized as one of the Top 20 Car Accident Attorneys in Boston for 2022. Whether you were driving, walking, biking, or on a motorcycle - Spada Law Group’s injury lawyers can help if you were injured in an accident. As personal injury lawyers, you never pay us a penny until we win your case.
We have offices in Chelsea, Peabody, and Worcester, but we proudly serve the entire state and can meet with you remotely from the comfort of your own home. Contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help you get the recovery you deserve after your injury.