Introduction
The evaluation of pain and suffering suffered by any victim in the context of personal injury law is vital as it is a determinant factor when ensuring that a victim is adequately compensated. Because pain is subjective by its very nature, it becomes complex and difficult for courts and adjusters to ascertain. Pain scales are among the most important mechanisms for gauging this experience as they provide a uniform way of recording the experience of pain. This article discusses the role of pain scales in personal injury claims settlements and the role of medical records review services drives in assisting lawyers in their litigation.
What Are Pain Scales?
Definition and Purpose
Pain scales are medical assessment tools designed to quantify the severity of a patient’s pain. They provide a consistent framework for healthcare professionals to evaluate and document pain levels, which can be referenced in legal cases. Common types of pain scales include:
- NRS: Patients rate their pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being total lack of pain while 10 is the worst pain ever felt. It is commonly used in most clinical settings.
- VAS: A measurement scale whereby a patient’s pain intensity is marked on a line which ranges from ‘no pain’ to ‘highest pain possible’. This method is useful for patients who are not able to articulate their pain and discomfort.
- Wong-Baker FACES Pain Scale: This adaptation is meant for children and people with cognitive dysfunctions and uses facial expressions to assess the pain.
- McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ): This is an inclusive questionnaire which allows the patient to give a more precise account of their pain experience through the use of a variety of descriptors.
The Role of Pain Scales in Personal Injury Cases
Proving Pain and Suffering
Damages for pain and suffering feature prominently, if not exclusively, in personal injury matters, disputes, or actions. A pain scale assists in describing and even measuring the amount of pain that was suffered over a defined period, thus strengthening a claim. By making the attorneys hate charting pain levels which were experienced by a patient over a period of time, they can reveal how completely the injuries affected the lives of their clients.
Demonstrating Impact on Daily Life
At a minimum, pain scales give an impression of the range of activities which can be performed post injuries. For example, chronic pain of 8/10 might mean that the abused will be greatly restricted in all working, exercising, and self-caring activities. Such substantiation puts into perspective the global effects of the injury and provides reason to raise the level of compensatory payments.
Supporting Settlement Calculations
Most settlements are determined utilizing a multiplier or per diem approach for pain and suffering damages. Concrete assessments of pain experience strength and length in pain scaling can help with giving evidence of facts in the case which involve time lost such as work capacity. Where the pain is measured more one can afford a higher multiplier in the multiplier method, but once the pain is steady the per diem method can be applied by use of mean readings of the pain score.
Engaging Medical Experts
While pain scales are valuable, they may not fully capture the complexity of a client’s pain experience. Attorneys often collaborate with medical experts to provide additional insights. Experts can:
- Interpret Pain Data: Analyze pain scale ratings to clarify how pain affects daily activities, reinforcing claims for substantial damages.
- Explain Long-Term Prognosis: Offer prognoses based on pain scale history and injury type, helping justify claims for future treatment costs.
- Clarify Non-Visible Pain: Testify about chronic pain conditions that may not have visible symptoms, countering claims that the pain is exaggerated.
How Medical Records Review Services Enhance Personal Injury Cases
Importance of Medical Records Review
Medical records review services play a critical role in personal injury cases by ensuring that all relevant documentation is accurately assessed and presented. These services assist attorneys by:
- Identifying Relevant Records: This involves reviewing the documents that are related to pain symptoms including treatment notes and pain assessment documents.
- Providing Expert Analysis: Demonstrating how the medical record data fits with scale data on pain sobering the case as a whole.
- Ensuring Compliance: Assisting attorneys with understanding and following HIPAA’s guidelines and ensuring proper handling of the practice’s information.
Our Approach to Medical Records Review
We specialize in providing comprehensive medical records review services tailored for attorneys. Our process includes:
- Initial Consultation: Things that the attorney needs help with and what his or her concerns are.
- Thorough Review: Looking into the pain assessment and the treatment that was documented.
- Reporting Findings: Giving a final report stating the level of the pain found and its relation to the case.
Case Studies
Case Study 1: Chronic Pain Assessment
Overview: A client has a strong back pain due to a car accident where there were extensive shoulder injuries.
Challenges: The insurance company was of the idea that the pain as presented by the client was exaggerated and hence sought to lower the limit in which the payout would be made.
Solutions: Our medical records review team was able to find numerous fracture clinics that reported a pain level of 7-9 consistently over the period of several months. We hired a pain management specialist to provide evidence that the client suffers from chronic pain.
Compensation: The amount paid was far above the claims that the defendant had made earlier arguing that the case was not worth the amount being put down as the client was documenting the level of pain he was in.
Case Study 2: Impact of Pain on Daily Activities
Overview: After a slip and fall incident, a client has been rendered unable to work and perform her normal day to day activities as she used to do prior to the accident due to the level of pain experienced.
Challenges: The defense maintained that the plaintiff had not established the threshold level of pain required to claim considerable payout.
Solutions: In support of the claim, we analyzed the plaintiff’s medical history and records which included various instances where the client reported the pain to be at a level 8 over 10. The client as well as family members were also interviewed and provided evidence to the effect that pain interfered with their daily activities.
Compensation: The client was paid settlements that compensated her for the sufferings as well as any productive time lost as a result of her inability to work.
Conclusion
For those attorneys who want to maximize the compensation of their clients by filing claims against personal injury settlements, they need to comprehend the significance of pain scales. Utilizing these resources efficiently, and employing medical document review services enables the lawyers to construct convincing arguments that serve to substantiate the pain and suffering felt by the victims. We believe that attorneys need help in dealing with the challenges brought about by claims of personal injury, and that every single detail of the case should be looked into and defended.