5 Effective Tips For Writing A Personal Injury Statement

A personal injury case involves many pieces of evidence, including facts from the actual case and your own witness account. To help figure out the details of your case, a personal injury lawyer may have you fill out a pain and suffering statement. While the facts of the case will also be there, a pain and suffering statement can go a long way for your settlement. Before you write out your full statement, it's a good idea to plan out as much as you can. The following five writing tips can help you write the most effective statement possible.

Free Flow Writing

Typing out a pain and suffering statement can contain a lot of mixed emotions. To help categorize your feelings and stay as organized as possible, you should start with a free flow writing session. Instead of typing on a computer, use a notepad and pen to write out as much as possible. Instead of planning anything out, just express your feelings and emotions when dealing with the injury.

Once the writing is complete, you can use segments to help form your actual pain and suffering statement. The free flow may help you discover emotions or feelings you didn't realize.

Introspective Timeline

Capturing the full timeline of your injury is often the core of a pain and suffering statement. When writing out a timeline, you want to add more than just the facts, and you want to place your emotions in the writing. For example, if the injury occurred in a car accident, then one of the timeline segments may involve when the crash occurred. Instead of just writing "The headlights swerved into my lane." you can add something like "My stomach dropped, I tensed up, and screamed."

The emotional impact of your injury is crucial to the settlement of your case.

Onomatopoeia Description

An easy way to punch up the drama of your pain and suffering statement is with a little onomatopoeia. The words are used to describe sounds that occurred during your injury. For example, if you broke any bones, you can describe the impact using words like CRUNCH and SNAP.

The same descriptive words can be used for other situations like a car crash impact or work-related incident.

Professional & Personal Effects

An injury can impact all aspects of your life. When writing your statement, it's important to separate both the professional and personal effects. For a professional section, you can talk about how the injury impacted your work skills, missed time at work, and future in the same work industry.

In a separate section, you can talk about your home life, the impact on your family, and any effects on your daily life. This also includes hobbies or tasks like cooking.

Before & After Segments

One of the best ways to show the impact of your injury is by showcasing a before and after section. This type of writing will directly show how your life has changed due to the injury. Break down these little steps as much as possible to ensure you've got everything covered.

For example, if you had a severe hand injury, then you should consider the impact it has had. Before, you were able to cut meat and cook personal meals. After the injury, you need assistance ordering food or are forced to order out. In another example, you may have been able to drive before but now the injury has caused you to use public transportation or ask for rides. The differences directly caused by the injury will all help emphasis your case and reach a settlement you deserve.

Along with all these writing tips, you can also ask your lawyer for samples of a pain and suffering statement. This can help you brainstorm ideas and get extra inspiration. Check out sites like http://www.danielgoodmanlaw.com for more info.


Share