What is meant by the requirement that I must sustain a “serious impairment of body function” in order to collect pain and suffering damages from the at fault driver?
The laws have gotten tougher recently on who can collect pain and suffering damages as a result of auto accident. Generally, you must prove that your injury is one that can be proven by what is known as “objective” medical evidence. This means that your injury must show up on medical tests such as x-rays, MRIs, EMGs, or CT scans. It is no longer enough for a person to feel pain unless the doctors can prove by testing what is causing the pain. Once objective medical evidence is established, you still have to show that the injury significantly interferes with your ability to conduct your life in the normal fashion you did before the injury.
