How to Document Your Injuries and Expenses for a Stronger Claim

If you’re dealing with the fallout of a devastating accident, it can seem confusing and overwhelming to figure out what to do first. You may recognize the financial impact this has on your life already, but those numbers will only begin to add up after you have been hurt. You must document your injuries to protect your right to a claim.

The more organized you are when documenting your injuries as well as clear about the legal process, the easier it will be to document your injuries and your expenses. This will help bolster your claim and make it easier to negotiate with the insurance company for a settlement or to prepare a strong claim when going to court. Of course, hiring a personal injury attorney in California is one of the best things you can do to support the overall outcome of your case. And a lawyer can give you guidance about the best way to start documenting your injuries.

Here are several tips for keeping things straight when pursuing a personal injury claim and wanting to protect your rights by documenting your injuries.

1. Start Immediately After the Incident

By starting immediately after the accident, you can have a clear record that is very organized and aligned with the impact on your life. Write down all details while events are still fresh in your mind. Of course, you can use other evidence such as photos, videos, and copies of the police report to tell your side of the story. But by documenting what happened to you in the hours and days immediately following the accident, it is easier to make a claim to the insurance companies involved about how your life was affected.

For example, you may have had to spend significant time in the hospital and take time off work. You may struggle to remember this later on, especially if you suffer symptoms of a concussion or a traumatic brain injury. Sometimes the brain will also attempt to shield you from the trauma associated with the accident, and this can make it hard for you to recall critical details. So it is best to write this information down as soon as possible. You want to record who, what, when, and where, and keep these materials in one place. You may start a digital file or even a physical binder that helps you keep track of everything.

2. Medical Records Are Your Foundation to Document Your Injuries 

If you have doctors’ notes, or reports and communication from the insurance company, keep track of this as well. Request all full copies of medical records and bills and keep them organized chronologically or from each provider. Although your health insurance may front some of the cost for certain types of these visits, it is important for you to know the total cost incurred as well as the cost that you are financially responsible for in the interim.

You can speak with your personal injury attorney about what to do with these bills as they pile up. Having a pending personal injury case may allow you to go on a payment plan or ask for an extension on paying these bills, but it is still extremely valuable to keep them organized.

Accidents can and do happen every day in the U.S., so knowing how to request your medical records to document your injuries is key for telling your story.

3. Maintain a Symptom and Pain Journal

In addition to your medical records and bills used to document your injuries, you’ll want to keep track of your treatments, medications, and follow-ups. This information can easily blur together. So you may also want to keep track of a journal that shows your following of medical advice and consistency in treatment. Although you might assume that the other party will recognize the severity of the accident and its impacts on your life, this is not always the case, and you need to have evidence that supports your rights from the beginning.

If you start with the assumption that the other side may try to minimize the impact of your injuries and its influence on your life, you will have a strong case by showing how organized you have been. A symptom and pain journal is critical because you can add daily or weekly entries on your physical limitations, pain levels, emotional distress, medications taken, and ways that this influenced your day-to-day life. For example, if you went to the playground where you normally would have enjoyed pushing your child on the swings but are unable to do this because of a devastating back injury, make a quick note of this in your symptom and pain journal.

Make your journal credible and specific by recording dates and very clear instances of how your injuries or the accident overall has affected your life. Although it is still important to have your medical records, a symptom and pain journal can be a much more personal explanation of how the accident has influenced you.

4. Save All Out-of-Pocket Expense Receipts

You may incur numerous expenses over the course of treating your injuries. This can include things such as medical equipment, prescriptions, and transportation to appointments. You may also have to pay for therapy, in-home care, or other injury-related expenses.

Initially, these may seem minor, but they can add up quickly and demonstrate major value in your overall claim. So keep receipts of all of them and store it in your digital file or your binder. It can be shocking to realize how much recovering from the accident takes over your life when you get proper medical care. And it can definitely seem like one more thing you don’t have the capacity for to keep track of it all. But it is well worth it to stay organized and keep all of your materials, even if you start simply by putting everything in a box or a file folder on your computer.

The sooner you start your storage system, the easier it will be.

5. Document Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

Many people lose out on wages or earning capacity because they are recovering from or getting treatment for their injuries. Document all lost wages and earning capacity to the best extent possible. You’ll want to show reduced hours, lost contracts, or missed promotions. You can use evidence such as employer letters, pay stubs, freelance income logs, or timesheets.

You’ll want to present a before and after if you are attempting to document lost wages or earning capacity. Earning capacity in particular can be very challenging to illustrate, and this is why hiring an attorney as soon as possible will help you. A lawyer can also assist you with navigating future earning capacity losses, such as making a strong claim that you may not ever be able to return to your full income capabilities based on the injuries sustained. When documenting your injuries, there are many different ways this can influence your life, and lost wages are a part of that.

6. Use Photos and Visual Evidence

Photos of damaged property, recovery progress, and injuries are also essential. Organize your photos by date. Visual evidence really supports your narrative. You never want to rely on just one type of evidence when making a personal injury claim. Whether you resolve your case in settlement negotiations or in court, visual and photo evidence can help to bolster other aspects of your claim by bringing things to life.

For example, although medical records are often considered the gold standard of evidence in personal injury cases or expert witness testimony by physicians, having photos and visual evidence can help bring this off of the page and illustrate the way your life has been forever altered because of this accident.

7. Keep Good Communication Records

Throughout your case, keep track of all communication records. This can include notes from phone conversations, letters or emails with assurance adjusters or the other party, and conversations with your own lawyer.

Your attorney may need these later to help show certain aspects of your case, such as if the insurance company has wrongfully delayed or denied your claim or any other aspect of a bad faith insurance claim. Organized documentation really helps to strengthen your personal injury case. Getting legal help to manage and present this evidence can have a big impact on the outcome of your case and your overall stress level and peace of mind.

As an accident victim, you are already dealing with so much because of someone else’s negligent or reckless behavior. It is your responsibility to keep this information organized and to present it in a way that helps support the overall claims in your case. Need more help figuring out how to document your injuries? Contact our law firm today.