Call us today to schedule a free consultation with my team. We fight for our clients throughout New Mexico from our Albuquerque office.
Invisible Injuries: How to Prove Pain and Suffering After a Car Accident
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
WhatsApp
Print
Invisible Injuries: How to Prove Pain and Suffering After a Car Accident
After a car crash, not all injuries are immediately visible. Soft tissue damage, whiplash, emotional trauma, and other invisible injuries can significantly impact your daily life, but insurance companies often challenge or undervalue these claims.
To recover compensation, you must take specific steps to prove pain and suffering after a crash, especially when your injuries aren’t outwardly apparent.
Why Pain and Suffering Damages Matter in a Car Crash Claim
Pain and suffering are considered non-economic damages, meaning they compensate for intangible losses, such as:
- Physical discomfort
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Sleep disturbances or emotional instability
- Long-term trauma related to the crash
Insurance companies may try to dismiss or minimize these damages to protect their bottom line. However, if another driver was at fault, you have the right to pursue compensation for both economic and non-economic losses.
How to Prove Pain and Suffering After a Car Crash
To recover compensation, you must prove the existence and impact of your injuries, including invisible ones. Here are effective ways to build a strong claim:
1. Seek Immediate and Ongoing Medical Treatment
Prompt medical care creates a paper trail that links your injuries to the crash. Continued treatment and follow-up appointments help establish the seriousness and duration of your condition.
2. Keep a Journal
Document your symptoms daily. Record how the injury affects your sleep, work, relationships, and quality of life. This first-person account can be powerful evidence in both insurance negotiations and court.
3. Expert Testimony
Your car crash lawyer may work with medical specialists, mental health professionals, or vocational experts who can provide opinions about your condition and its effects.
4. Witness Statements
Friends, family members, or coworkers can describe noticeable changes in your mood, physical ability, or overall well-being after the crash.
Can the Insurance Company Decide the Value of Pain and Suffering?
No. Insurance companies often apply a basic formula—multiplying your medical bills by a number (often between 1.5 and 5)—to estimate pain and suffering. However, this method doesn’t reflect the true impact of your injuries.
You are not required to accept a low offer. If negotiations fail, your lawyer can take the case to court, where a jury may award more appropriate compensation based on the evidence.
What Happens if the Insurance Company Will Not Settle?
If the insurer refuses to make a fair offer, your lawyer can file a lawsuit and move forward with litigation. During this process, your own testimony and that of medical or psychological experts can demonstrate how the injury has changed your life.
Insurance companies often fear jury trials because jurors are more likely to empathize with the injured person and award substantial damages. Simply showing a willingness to litigate can increase your negotiating power.
Why You Should Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in Santa Fe
Navigating a car crash claim is challenging, especially when dealing with invisible injuries and uncooperative insurance adjusters. A skilled lawyer can:
- Help you gather medical records and documentation.
- Connect you with appropriate medical and psychological experts.
- Calculate the full value of your damages.
- Negotiate aggressively with the insurance company.
- Represent you in court if needed.
Contact a Santa Fe Car Accident Lawyer at Buchanan Law Firm, LLC
If you’ve been injured in a crash—whether the damage is visible or not—contact a Santa Fe car accident lawyer at Buchanan Law Firm, LLC today. Call us at 505-900-3559 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation. Our office is located in Albuquerque, and we proudly serve clients across Santa Fe and the surrounding areas.
My Promise to You
We Prepare Each Case for Trial
We prep every case as if it will be going to trial. There is no better way to make sure you get the compensation that you deserve than to be ready to fight for you and exhaust all legal remedies. Some firms shy away from trial, we embrace it.
This is a Team Effort
We recognize that every legal matter is different. We’ll listen carefully to learn the details of your situation, as well as your goals. We’ll keep you involved and informed at all times, making certain you know where you stand, what your options are, and your likelihood of success.
We Will Be Straight With You
Whether it is about the value of your case, or how good or bad the evidence is, we will tell it to you straight. We want to help you make the best decisions about your case by giving you the information you need.
Notable Case Results
We have recovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients.
$11.6 Million
Hospital Negligence
Hospital negligence resulted in catastrophic injury. This was a case involving a patient who entered the hospital for routine observation but left the hospital with catastrophic and permanent injuries due to neglect and improper treatment. This case involved extensive expert testimony on all aspects of the client’s care, both by hospital administration, hospital employees, and contractors who were involved in her treatment.
$8 Million
Semi Truck Wrongful Death
Semi-truck negligence caused wrongful death. This case involved a semi-truck driver who was intoxicated on illegal substances and killed our client. The key to this case was both aggressive discovery work, and understanding the trucking laws that regulate truck drivers and motor carriers, so we could prove how reckless it was to put the driver on the road that day.
$3.5 Million
Semi Truck Catastrophic Injury
Semi-truck negligence caused catastrophic injury. This case involved a semi-truck driver who lost control of his vehicle in a high-traffic area, causing devastating injuries to our client. We were able to reconstruct every step of the events leading up to the crash that day to piece together why this happened, using sophisticated experts in reconstruction engineering.
$3.0 Million
Semi Truck & Corporate Negligence
Semi-truck and corporate negligence caused traumatic brain injury. Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the defendant’s negligence in parking a commercial vehicle. The key to this case was understanding trucking regulations and local ordinances at play to show how the situation should have been handled safely.
$1 Million
Semi Truck Wrongful Death
Semi-truck causing wrongful death. This sad case involved the tragic death of our clients when a semi-driver was high on illegal substances. The key to this case was working closely with law enforcement and our reconstruction expert to identify all of the assets we could recover for these clients so that they could be as fully compensated as possible.
Let's Get Started
We're ready to fight for you. We're ready to be your ally and we are ready to begin right now. Don't waste another day, contact our law office today.
We understand that serious injuries do not happen only during normal business hours which is why we are always available to help if you have been injured. Our team is available around the clock to take your call and provide the support that you need.
