Debilitating back injury- lawyer is asking for a list of 'personal losses', emotional, physical... Suggestions

Question

My brother (23), fell down a flight of stairs- because they were broken- last christmas.He hasn't been able to move off his bed since. He's suing the landlord, and the lawyer is asking for a list of his personal losses.. emotional, physical, monetary, ect. We're come up with most of the obvious stuff(unable to work, travel, hang out, go to school, ect), but we know the list isn't complete.. does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

how many friends did he used to see weekly? how many does he see now?

Does he have a physical before and after picture? that sort of inactivity has a devastating effect on muscle mass and posture.

Has this injury limited access to jobs he knew how to do, so that a 'loss' is that he now needs training to do something he can still do? what will that training cost?

Did he have employment contacts or history that are now useless to him?

Did he have a girlfriend or a wife? How are they doing now?

Does he require help to get his daily stuff done? What stuff? How many hours per week help? What does the sort of help he needs generally cost?

How much more of his time does it take to do daily tasks than it takes most people (him before he was hurt)? It will be taking this extra time out of his life for awhile to come.

Has he lost social status due to his injury directly or unemployment (indirectly)?

How is he getting along with his landlord? Has he suffered insecurity?

Pain? what are his meds since the accident?

Mental anguish? (see a counseler if you can)

Keep a tediously detailed diary for a week, noting how long it takes to do everything, exactly what he does, exactly what everyone else must do for him, what he might have been doing at those times if he were not injured, opportunities lost.

The diary is a really valuable tool. It is not necessary to make it fancy, so long as it is complete. If he just can't write one, get him a tape recorder or dictation stick to borrow, and transcribe it. You know: 10:20am heading to the potty, 10:24am wet my pants in the hall, 10:50pm finally got my wet pants off...

He will never get what it will cost him in his future life to have been injured now. I was seriously injured when I was 19, and I have shelled out a few thousand dollars a year in just leg braces. That does not include surgeries done every 5 or 6 years, or the work i have lost to that. Or the cost of prescription medications for pain and inflammation that i still take. Or the repair of other parts i have overused for 30 years compensating for the weak bits. Having bad legs is really hard on the hands you walk on, and the back you must pick everything up with. Bad backs end up hard on the knees, and sometimes the hands you have to walk on. These eventually also need repair.

It does not include the discrimination i experience in hiring forever, blah blah blah. I figure that it costs me at least $10,000/yr now in what i would have been making if i had been able to work more steadily, on top of the ongoing direct costs of self maint & repair.

Good luck to him. Hope you get what he needs, since you can never really undo what has happened to him

Answer 2

Courts ought to see "truly" scientific proof that you are injured earlier than they will award you something. Physical Therapists paintings handiest beneath the course OF a physician, and Chiro-quack-tic is simply voodoo, so for those who desire to have a case, you want a physician. Richard

Answer 3

Pardon me for saying this, but "loss of companionship" meaning "sex". It can work, I used it during my car accident case.

Also, if he golfed or had an active hobby, you can say that too. Have the lawyer put it into lawyer-speak.

Hope he gets better soon!

Answer 4

Give the attorney photo copies of all of his bills, including receipts for grocery store purchases. As for emotional and psychologic problems, your brother should be evaluated by a psychiatrist, and the attorney should have advised him about this.