There is an old “joke” – the difference between major surgery and minor surgery?  Minor surgery is any surgery that happens to you, major surgery is any surgery that happens to me.  The joke is unfortunately far to relevant when it comes to accident cases.

It is very easy to discount someone else’s pain and suffering.  What is the big deal about losing important function?  You can still walk.  You can still talk.  You are alive.  Don’t complain.  Society often pushes people to be thankful for what they have; this is often a positive emphasis.  However, when someone focuses on losses there can be negative reaction.  People don’t want to appear like complainers.  On the other hand, if an accident victim does not complain, it may be said that there is nothing wrong.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t?

Not necessarily.  It is all about being reasonable. An injured person is entitled to explain the impact of an injury while still being thankful things did not turn out worse.  Reasonable people will accept reasonable evidence.  The legal system must not encourage injury victims to blow things out of proportion.  This is best done by properly compensating people who tell it the way it is.