How to Document Your Injuries and Assist in Your Personal Injury Case
Personal injury is a serious matter that can devastate your health, financial well-being, earning potential and overall future. If you've been injured due to another person's negligence or an intentional act, you may be considering filing a lawsuit in an effort to collect compensatory damages and improve your life after the injury. Before you consult with a personal injury lawyer, start documenting your injuries. The more details you can provide to your lawyer about your injuries, the higher chance of success you will have in a settlement or trial.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Write down everything you can remember about the accident/injury when it occurred and anything that you remember at a later time. Include photographs if you have them. Collect names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses to either your injury or accident.
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2
Keep a calendar of all your appointments. Each appointment should include the date, time, appointment location (clinic or hospital name) and brief reason for the visit.
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3
Maintain a master list of all the doctors you have seen since your injury. The list should include the doctor's name, contact information, office/clinic address and specialty.
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4
Keep track of all the medications you have been prescribed. This list should include the name of the medication, the prescription date, prescriber's name and reason for taking the medication. Additionally, note any and all diagnoses made by your doctor.
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5
Record when, where, why and by whom any surgeries or procedures were performed.
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6
Keep track of all the days you've had to take off work as a result of your injury. Additionally, note any days you've had to leave work early due to appointments or not feeling well. Document the monetary losses, such as lost work time, you've sustained since your injury, which will be helpful in determining the damages you are entitled to collect.
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Chronicle how you feel on a daily basis. Note whether your condition gets better, gets worse or stays the same.
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Keep all your receipts for co-pays, medications, transportation expenses, etc. Keep all correspondence regarding your injuries, disabilities, insurance and workers' compensation, as well as any legal papers sent to you or served on you and any other correspondence or records related to your case.
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References
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