What Records Do I Need to File an Accident Claim?
If another party injures you, you might be entitled to compensation for your injury, financial losses, and other damages. However, you must have documentation of your losses to receive compensation for an accident claim. Therefore, it is important to keep accurate and detailed records of each expense and financial loss associated with the accident, your injury, and your recovery. It is also important to keep records related to your pain and suffering. Our legal team works closely with you to document your damages to maximize recovery for a personal injury claim.
Records Used in a Personal Injury
Case to Prove Damages
The records for a personal injury case vary by the type of accident claim and the unique facts of the case. Common records used in many personal injury cases include:
- Medical bills and invoices
- Income tax returns
- Earnings records
- Statement of loss of income
- Receipts for medications, prescriptions and
over-the-counter medications - Receipts for medical supplies and medical equipment
- Mileage records
- Receipts and invoices for help with household chores
- Bills for home health care
If you incur other expenses and losses, you need to keep copies of the
bill, invoice, and receipt for payment.
In addition to documenting your financial losses, you also want to document your pain and suffering damages. There are no bills or invoices for noneconomic damages, but you can document these damages to increase the value of your accident claim.
Maintaining a pain and suffering journal is one of the best ways to document
noneconomic damages. Along with the notes in your journal, it can be helpful to
take pictures of your injuries throughout your recovery. Information you may
want to include in your pain and suffering journal includes:
- Daily pain level
- The tasks you are unable to perform
- Events you miss
- How the injury impacts personal relationships
- Bouts with fear, anxiety, or depression
- Missed work opportunities
If you are unsure what information to include in your pain and suffering
journal, you should talk to your Erie personal injury attorney. Your attorney
understands the information needed to substantiate claims for physical pain,
emotional distress, and mental anguish. Your attorney may give you a list of
questions to answer periodically in your journal to help detail the challenges
you face during your recovery.
How Do You Calculate the Value of an Accident Claim?
Calculating the value of a personal injury claim can be complex. The
value of financial damages is typically much easier to calculate than the value
of pain and suffering damages. However, some factors can complicate the
calculation of financial damages.
For example, if you sustained a permanent injury or impairment, you might
be entitled to compensation for future loss of wages, decreased earning
capacity, and medical expenses. In many cases, a financial expert and medical
expert are required to testify as to how much you would have earned had you not
been injured and how much you can expect to pay for future medical care.
The calculation of pain and suffering is subjective. Some factors that
impact pain and suffering damages include:
- The type and severity of your injury;
- Whether you have scarring or disfigurement;
- Whether you suffered a disability or permanent
impairment; and, - The length of your recovery.
An attorney with experience handling personal injury claims knows how to
use the evidence in the case to calculate the maximum value for pain and
suffering damages.
Call Our Erie Personal Injury
Attorney for More Information
You do not need to worry about gathering records and calculating damages
when you have a legal team working for you. You can focus on your recovery and
let your attorney and his team handle your claim.
Contact The
Travis Law Firm by calling (800)
401-2066 to schedule a free
consultation
with our Erie personal injury attorney to learn more about how we can help you
after an accident or injury.