Generally, an occupational therapist is an important part of your personal injury claims. An appointment will have to be arranged by your lawyers. However, most people are not aware of what these experts do, and why they are important to your claims. Some are not even aware of what an occupational therapist is, or what they do.

Who is an occupational therapist?

An occupational therapist is an expert whose role is to make sure that you can go about your normal activities without any problems, to help you give your life some purpose. In order to make things even easier, an occupational therapist will come to see you in the environment that you desire. It could be your office, at home, or even meet with you and your doctor.

As long as you encounter any challenges that make it impossible for you to go about your normal life activities in a healthy manner, you will need an occupational therapist. The concept of occupational therapy lies in the understanding of good health to be about physical, spiritual and psychological wellness. It is also about encouraging individuals to become more actively involved in their lives, since those who do, normally have better lives than those who do not.

In order to help you engage in your life to the best of your ability, there are certain common issues that you will come across, including the need to use adaptive equipment, trying new activities from time to time, learning new skills and strategies, or in some cases, changing your environment.

Occupational therapists often work in community centers, private practices, schools, hospitals and care facilities. As long as public health policy is involved, you can always be sure to get these therapists at work.

Why do you need an occupational therapist for your claim?

If you are filing for some claims, you will need an expert to help you in the recovery process. Take note that not everyone is able to recover from injuries sustained at the same rate. Therefore, you might require an expert to nurture you back to your normal functions, or in some extreme cases, someone who can help you come to terms with the permanent loss.

Their role lies in talking to you about the pain, the depression, or anything else that you are feeling or going through. To make your life easier, the therapist can also recommend short term services like hiring a helper around the house.

One of the other reasons why these therapists are important to your claim is because of their expert opinion on assessing your disability and the impact that these injuries could have on your ability to function normally. They therefore conduct their assessment and then prepare a report that will provide an accurate picture of your current situation, with respect to the claims to be awarded.

Get the right picture

While you seek claims for damages, it is always important to have someone tell your story. Particularly for those who seek compensation for injuries, an expert should be able to tell your story, and show how the injuries you have sustained will impede your ability to participate in your job, hobbies or carrying out other responsibilities.

If you need proof that you are unable to take care of yourself as a result of the injuries sustained, there is no better person to provide this than an occupational therapist. They will give their recommendations on the cost and type of support that you will need. You need an expert to help with this, because they have to explain their report in court if need be, more so the cost of future care report.

What to expect during the assessment

The nature of the assessment might vary depending on the therapist that comes to see you. However, the assessment should include an interview of what your life was like before you incurred the injury. It could be anything from traumatic brain injury to whiplash, as long as it affected your life.

Your therapist will need to know what your daily responsibilities were, how you would spend your time and so forth. You will also be asked about your daily responsibilities, and a general inquiry into your health before your injuries.

After these questions, the therapist will then attempt to understand the challenges that you have been through since the injuries. Further assessment might include the therapist monitoring how you work, walk, climb stairs or any other physical activity to determine the nature of the difficulties you are facing. It is important to the therapist to study your environment, at home and at work, so they are able to comment on the factors in your life that would make your daily activities harder to perform.

When you are injured, seeing an expert will really help you a great deal. If not for the recovery process, an expert will definitely help your injury lawyers understand how the tragedy affected your life, and help them set the appropriate compensation for you.