When you have a claim for a vaccine-related injury or illness under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), it is important to document the costs of your injury or illness as thoroughly as possible. This includes not only your financial costs (i.e., your lost wages, medical bills and other out-of-pocket expenses), but your non-financial costs as well. The VICP allows claimants to recover up to $250,000 for their pain and suffering, and one of the best ways to document your pain and suffering is by keeping a “pain journal.” Vaccine attorney Leah V. Durant explains:

Keeping a Pain Journal to Document the Non-Financial Costs of Your Vaccine-Related Injury or Illness

Living with the effects of a vaccine-related injury or illness can be difficult. It can also be stressful; and, for many people, it can mean living with pain on a daily basis. Over time, these consequences can take a significant toll, and they can affect not only your life, but your loved ones’ lives as well.

In legal terms, these are classified as non-financial costs—and they are commonly referred to as pain and suffering. In addition to providing compensation for vaccine recipients’ financial costs, the VICP also provides compensation for their non-financial costs. While financial compensation won’t make your pain and suffering go away, it can make the coping process easier, and making sure you recover the full compensation you deserve is an important part of the recovery process.

When you have a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), it is up to you (or your vaccine attorney) to prove how much you are entitled to recover. This means that you need thorough documentation of your financial and non-financial costs. While documenting your financial costs is a relatively straightforward process (though there are still challenges involved in forecasting your future costs), there is no documentation you can collect in order to “add up” the costs of your pain and suffering.

Instead, proving your pain and suffering during a VICP claim involves demonstrating how your vaccine-related injury or illness has negatively impacted your life (and how it will continue to negatively impact your life in the future). As mentioned above, one of the best ways you can do this is by keeping a “pain journal.”

What is a Pain Journal?

A pain journal is a place where you keep track of all of the ways that your vaccine-related injury or illness impacts your life. When you file a claim under the VICP, or hire a vaccine attorney to file a claim for you, having documentation of these impacts will assist with proving your pain and suffering. Some examples of the types of things you can document in your pain journal include:

  • Your pain levels when you wake up, throughout the day and when you go to bed
  • Any movements or activities that cause your pain to worsen
  • Any activities you are unable to perform due to your medical condition (i.e., hobbies, taking care of your home, going to work and taking care of your family)
  • Any events you are forced to miss due to your medical condition (i.e., social outings, date nights with your spouse or partner, and your children’s games or recitals)
  • The emotional impacts of experiencing physical pain and being unable to enjoy life as you did before your vaccine-related injury or illness

Again, these are just examples. What you include in your pain journal will be unique to you; and, the more you can document in your pain journal, the better. While this can be difficult, it is also important, as you are the only person who can accurately convey how your vaccine-related injury or illness has negatively impacted your day-to-day life.

How Do You Keep a Pain Journal?

You can keep a pain journal in whatever way is easiest for you. The most important thing is that you do it, and consistently record your condition’s effects on a daily basis. Some people keep an actual journal, and some use a calendar or planner. You can also take notes on your phone or record voice memos. As long as you do it—and stick to it—you will be helping to maximize your chances of recovering the financial compensation you deserve under the VICP.

How Will Your Pain Journal Be Used?

When you file a VICP claim, how your pain journal will be used depends on how your case progresses. Many successful VICP claims settle; and, if you hire an experienced vaccine attorney to represent you, your attorney will work to settle your claim as quickly as possible without the need to present evidence of your losses in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (also known as the “Vaccine Court”). During the settlement negotiation process, your attorney will share evidence with the government’s attorneys only as necessary, and this evidence will generally be kept confidential. From your relevant medical records to an affidavit attesting to the severity of your pain and suffering, there are a variety of forms of evidence that it may be possible to present without fully disclosing the details of your pain journal.

Regardless of how your case progresses, if you hire a vaccine attorney to represent you, your attorney will work to maximize your financial compensation while also protecting your privacy. Your attorney can seek to have all evidence protected under seal; and, at the end of your claim, your attorney can seek to have your name redacted from the final decision. As a result, while it may be necessary to share details of your pain and suffering with the government attorneys and Special Master assigned to your claim, you generally shouldn’t have to worry about the details being shared with anyone else.

Schedule a Free Initial Consultation with Vaccine Attorney Leah V. Durant

Do you have a claim under the VICP for a vaccine-related injury or illness? To learn about your legal rights, contact us for a free initial consultation with vaccine attorney Leah V. Durant. Call 202-775-9200 or contact us online to request an appointment today.