When I got into an auto accident, the claims adjusters did everything that they could do to reduce the damages that I got. Although they were going to settle for enough money to pay for my hospital bills and lost time at work, it still didn't amount to much. I had lost considerable mobility, and I would be laid up for months and months before I ever made a full recovery. It had put my attempts to run the marathon back by at least a year, and I wasn't getting any younger. Worst of all, I was in chronic pain and had been mentally traumatized by the whole thing. The other driver had been at fault, and had been driving negligently – he even admitted it to the cops. At the time, I didn't know about pain and suffering compensation, but my lawyer informed me of it. He told me that, more than most accident victims, I really deserved a pain and suffering settlement.
When you get injured, you see, it is not just the actual fractured parts that get damaged. Soft tissue pain is a common complaint of most auto accident victims. You just don't feel the same, and you ache in places where you have not ached before. Along with the big damages, you may have thousands of tiny rips and your muscles, rips that over time can cause quite a bit of scarring and discomfort. This is what pain and suffering compensation is for. In some ways, you never recover from a severely traumatic event, but compensation pain and suffering does serve as a sort of crutch to help you get back on your feet.
Unfortunately, the pain and suffering compensation trial was by no means a sure thing. At the time, the other driver had been very apologetic, but since then he had hired a lawyer and was refusing to give an inch. They refused to discuss out of court pain and suffering settlements, although it could have worked in their favor. I don't know why the change of heart, but for some reason they were going to make me fight for the pain and suffering compensation that, deep down, I am sure they know I deserved. In the end, it worked out even better for me than if they had settled. And out of court settlement, you see, is usually a sort of a compromise. With the pain and suffering compensation ruling, however, I got everything I wanted.
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