Chronic Pain Requiring Medication

For over 22 years, I have represented injured individuals in workers' compensation and personal injury, including motor vehicle accidents, falldown and other negligence  cases.  All of my clients have been injured, but of course, to varying degrees, some ending up with long term chronic pain requiring medication.

In the world of workers' compensation and personal injury, and in general in our society, there are those times when someone is injured so badly that after all of their medical care and after all of their recovery, they continue to suffer such debilitating and disabling pain and discomfort that their life consists of never ending agony.  Those people who suffer such agony, such long term chronic pain requiring medication, those are the people who are the subject of this Blog piece.

I find it inhumane to force them to suffer.  It is draconian, medieval in thought, to deny pain relief to these people.  When drugs or medication will provide relief from long term chronic pain, let people have the relief.

We all know the truth that drugs (both legal and illegal) harm people.  There are side effects.  There is destruction of the body.  Addiction can set in leading to real and significant issues.  The harmful effects of legal and illegal drugs are real and they should never be callously disregarded.

But whether medication is some mild over-the-counter pill, or something more potent, like opiates or medical marijuana, we need to stop demanding that people suffer without relief.  We need to stop the inhumanity.  Let someone who is in agony feel better so they suffer less.  We should stop looking negatively at medication that provides pain relief.

There are things you can do about this.  First, support a physician's ability to prescribe pain relief without pre-determined limitations or negative judgments.  Second, support loosening restrictions on medical marijuana so it is more readily available.  Third, make sure that anyone you know who is suffering like this is in the hands of a compassionate lawyer willing to fight for the victim, a lawyer willing to point the injured victim to respectable quality physicians who will help and finally, a lawyer experienced and knowledgeable enough to advocate on behalf of the injured victim who has long term chronic pain requiring medication.