Accidents are a part of life, and experiencing one is common. But gaining proper compensation for your loss is crucial for a healthy and quick recovery from an accident. Documenting your injury is the most vital step to file a successful claim.
If you are in need to file a personal injury claim in Plano, talking to a personal injury lawyer in Plano should be your initial step. A lawyer can support and guide you about the initial documentation of your injury and how you can utilize it to file a successful claim. Let us examine the importance of documenting your injuries and some valuable tips and tricks.
What is the Role of Documentation in A Personal Injury Claim?
A well-documented personal injury case is everything for a successful claim. Your settlement or compensation depends upon the proper evidence and solid proof. Well-documented evidence is of great help to your legal team as well. It will save their time and energy, and they will be able to invest their time in other weak areas of your claim. Let us look into it further:
-
Establishing Liability
Establishing liability is very important when it comes to receiving a deserving claim. And to prove liability or the other party’s fault, it is vital to provide solid evidence about the other party’s negligence.
You need to document proper evidence like police/ concerned authorities’ reports, pictures of the incident, photos of the vehicle and damages, witness statements, etc.
-
Evidence of Damage
Proving liability is essential, but proving your injury is also very crucial. Don’t forget to document your injuries. Document your physical, emotional, mental, and financial losses.
You need to document the proof of your medical bills, lost wages, and evidence of how your injuries have changed your daily life. And how your injury made operating your daily life tasks so hard.
Useful Tips and Tricks to Document Personal Injury
The key to good documentation is persistence and connection. Following are some valuable tips to follow while documenting a personal injury:
-
Save Medical Records
Right after going through an accident, seeing a doctor is highly crucial. Yes, it is vital to receive suitable treatment. But it is also helpful to receive all the medical bills, receipts, doctor’s notes, and other essential documents personally. Saving those initial medical treatment and diagnostic records is the key here.
Save all these official medical records of your symptoms, damages, internal bleeding, medical test receipts, etc. Keep copies of the medical records to utilize them as helpful evidence in legal processing.
-
Save Photographic Evidence
Saving photographic evidence is highly crucial when it comes to documenting a personal injury case. Photographic evidence can speak volumes. Everyone carries a cell phone with them these days. So it is very easy just to capture all the visual proof with your phone’s camera.
Try to cover the whole scene with your camera. Make videos and take pictures. Capture photos of your damaged car, injuries, the area/road, and other accident-related evidence. These photos can guide your legal team to help you receive your claim.
-
Save Witness Information
Your version of the accident/scene can be very different and unique from a witness’s. That is why it is recommended to talk to a witness, hear their version of the incident, and see what is new or different. You can further investigate that. But before that, you need to document their witness statements.
Ask them if they are okay with you recording them for the witness statement. And also, remember to save their names, contact, and address information for the future. Your attorney or lawyer will try to contact them for verification.
-
Save Information in A Personal Injury Journal
Documenting your personal injury’s impact on your day-to-day tasks is a very clever step that you can take. Try to record or write how you feel about your regular or daily input. Write down about your mental, emotional, and physical struggles linked to your medical condition.
Writing your medical journal is excellent for a successful personal injury claim. This will help you remember all your efforts related to your injury and how long it took you to recover from all the pain and struggles. This will also help your legal team to work on your case in an efficient way.
-
Save All the Relevant Documents
Do not waste any other documents related to your personal injury case. Save any documents linked to your accident, medical receipts, injuries, test receipts, insurance correspondence, personal pocket finances, and car damage repair expenses.
Literally, save each and every minor or major receipt and report connected to your accident. Because it will be highly effective for your legal team to estimate the financial loss you have to suffer due to your accident. And eventually, it will play a significant role in getting deserved compensation for all of your loss. The key here is to be detailed and consistent as much as you can about your accident and suffering.
