When it comes to obtaining a fair, full, and maximum injury settlement for my injured client, loss of quality evidence is a key factor. Here are 3 categories of evidence I focus on when building my case.
Sudden Onset of Injury
The important evidence detailing an injured person’s loss in quality of life includes the following:
- Evidence of the immediate disruption of life, including pain, suffering, emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, loss in freedom of movement, and the anxieties related to a sudden onset of injury.
- Evidence of on-going pain and physical restrictions, including the difficulties encountered with walking, standing, lifting, bending, driving, and all of the activities of daily living.
- Evidence of the on-going impact the injury has on work, household, family, and personal responsibilities.
- Evidence of the losses associated with the medical recovery, including medical treatment, rehabilitation, medications, and home health care.
- Evidence of the overall disruption of daily life, including the loss in restful sleep, fatigue, and the inability to function as normal.
Longer-Range Consequences of injury
Because most injuries have consequences after the injured person has been released from medical care, the total loss of quality of life must consider evidence pertaining to the:
- on-going need to manage the injury, including dealing with pain, discomfort, fatigue, and the need to limit physical activity,
- on-going loss in physical capacity and well-being,
- on-going need for medications, accommodations, and assistance, and the
- on-going susceptibility to aggravation and re-injury.
Lifetime Loss in Quality of Life
With regard to more serious injuries, proving loss of quality requires special evidence related to the lifetime diminishment of quality of life, including medically based evidence of the following:
- future medical, lifecare, and anticipated accommodations,
- permanent disability and impairment,
- loss in earning capacity,
- the acceleration of physical decline requiring earlier need for assisted living.
About Attorney Douglas R. Horn
Doug is founder and Lead Attorney of The Horn Law Firm, P.C. where he concentrates in cases involving the sudden onset of head, neck, back, orthopedic, neurological, and other traumatic injuries that require extended medical care and rehabilitation.
Since 1991, Doug has maintained a track record of success in a wide variety of personal injury cases. Based in Independence, Doug represents injured persons in Missouri, Kansas, and across the Midwest.
Outside of his law practice, Doug frequently lectures in the area of personal injury law, giving legal education presentations for national attorney audiences. He also dedicates a significant amount of his work to the advancement of driver safety, especially in the area of teen driver protection.
