Pain Journal v. Doctor’s Notes

When a client hires me for an injury claim, one of the first things I tell them to do (and remind them to do throughout their recovery) is to keep a PAIN JOURNAL. That can look different for each client, but essentially what I’d like to see is what hurt, how badly, and how it affected your day EACH AND EVERY DAY OF YOUR RECOVERY.

Why is that important?

Well, your pain journal is the framework around which I build your pain and suffering argument. Obviously, you’re going to want your medical expenses covered. The bills help to inform that discussion. But what informs your pain and suffering discussion? I can say, “He hurt for 3 months.” OR I can show them 3 months of DAILY journal entries with details about how that injury was affecting them in their daily life. If you’re on a jury, are you going to be more likely to award the dude who says, “I hurt for three months,” or the dude who can read to you from his pain journal about how each of those 90 days sucked, how badly, and why? The latter, of course!

I get it. Many clients are busy with their lives and whatnot and it’s hard to commit to keeping up with the journal. That’s fine. But understand that it can really impact your case. And while I can encourage you to do it and explain/remind you why it’s important, I can’t do it for you. I just can’t. It’s up to you.

And clients often ask if information from their medical records will suffice. “The doctor asks me every day I go in what my pain level is and I tell them.” OK. Super. But is that a pain journal? Nope. Does it talk about how your neck pain really made it hard to sit through Mr. Derpenschleper’s quarterly sales report? Does it talk about how your back pain made it impossible for you to go to your niece’s wedding? Does it explain how you were hoping to go to the UFC event but couldn’t because your knee wouldn’t allow you to walk that far? No, it doesn’t. Your doctor’s notes are for him/her. Your pain journal is for you.

Do the pain journal. If you can’t, don’t. But if you do, it’s generally worth the time/effort involved as it illustrates your suffering from a personal point of view AND shows your commitment to pursuing this claim. If you can’t be bothered to keep a pain journal, can the adjuster be bothered to pay you?