Many people know the significance of medical records in personal injury cases. The defendant will want to see your health history as well as treatment records to know the extent of your injury and cost of your treatment. However, these are not the only records you need to keep if you are pursuing a personal injury claim. Other documents you should gather and preserve include:
Insurance Information
This includes copies of your health or disability insurance coverage. If you are part of group plan insurance, then the corresponding document is the certificate of participation. These records are significant because they help your lawyer to determine how the defendants may seek to limit their obligation to pay your settlement. This is based on the collateral source rule, which means your potential award may be decreased by the amount you receive from your insurance company as compensation for your injuries.
Communications from the Defendants
It is possible that you will communicate with the defendants numerous times during the course of your claim negotiations. These communications may start even before you engage an attorney. They may take different forms such as phone calls, emails and letters.
It is important to preserve any information from the defendants if you receive it in a format that you can save such as email or paper document. Keep all the documents whether or not they seem significant to you. For example, an apology for your injuries may help your attorney to prove that your defendants already accepted liability for your injuries.
Evidence for Lost Earnings
If you were seriously injured, then it stands to reason that you may have missed work and lost some wages or earnings. Maybe you were in pain and incapacitated, or you were hospitalized for some time. If you want to be compensated for these damages, then you have to prove that they exist. The best way of doing this is to compare your earnings before and after your injury. The paper trail for this may include:
As you can see, you need a lot of documents to strengthen your personal injury case. The rule of thumb here is to keep everything related to your injury, whether or not you think it is important. Your job is not to determine which ones are relevant; furnish your attorney, such as Kenneth R Schuster And Associates PC, with the details and let him or her decide which ones are important.
Share27 February 2015
After you have endured a traumatic, life-changing car accident, it can be hard to transition back into your everyday routine. As friends and family members chat about upcoming outlet mall sales or holiday plans, you might be secretly worried about how to pay your medical bills or forget about that wreck. Fortunately, dealing with your car accident case proactively by working with an attorney can really help. After I was involved in a car accident a few years back, my attorney stood by my side and helped me to argue for what was rightfully mine. I made this website to teach others what to do if they are involved in an accident.