In any personal injury lawsuit, having evidence will be crucial to proving your case. As the plaintiff, you must establish four elements:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care.
- The defendant breached that duty of care.
- That breach was what caused your injuries.
- You incurred damages related to those injuries.
Your medical records will be the main evidence you use to prove elements 3 and 4. Medical records are the perfect way to establish a timeline of your injuries and quantify the amount of money you have spent – and will spend in the future – because of them. You can also use your medical records to establish that you incurred mental anguish and prolonged suffering due to the defendant’s negligence.
Here are some types of medical records that may be relevant to your personal injury case:
Emergency Room and Hospitalization Records
Whether it was a car accident, slip and fall, dog bite, or any other incident that caused your injuries, it is likely you will need immediate emergency medical care, followed by a stay in the hospital. This kind of treatment and care can be extremely expensive, even if you have health insurance. Be sure to keep copies of your emergency room paperwork and hospitalization records, not only to document that you were in fact injured but also how much your treatment cost you.
Ongoing Treatment Records
Some injuries will take a long time to heal. You may need prescriptions, surgeries, physical therapy, and multiple appointments with specialists over the course of your recovery. Keep any records you have in your files, along with any recommendations your doctors gave you for future treatments. This will allow the courts to more accurately estimate the amount of economic damages you incurred and could lead to a larger settlement or favorable verdict.
Mental Health Treatment Records
Sometimes injuries are more than just cuts and bruises; many who were injured in accidents suffer long-term psychological injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder. For example, if you were injured in a car accident by a drunk driver, you may be too traumatized to ever get in a car again. This would affect your ability to hold down a job in the future and would severely hinder your freedom of movement. If you received any mental health treatment related to the accident, the defendant could be held liable for paying these expenses, as well as for any long-term mental anguish you will suffer as a result.
Photographic Evidence of Your Injuries
Personal injury cases can sometimes take years to be resolved. While the physical signs of your injuries, like bruises and cuts, may fade, the consequences of another person’s negligence can stay with you for life. That’s why obtaining visual evidence of your injuries is crucial in winning your case and maximizing your compensation. If your doctors took any photographs, x-rays, or videos during your treatment, get copies and include them in the evidence you present. While it is possible to document your own injuries and have that evidence authenticated by an expert witness, it will be much simpler to establish a timeline of your injuries with official photos from your doctors.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Cherry Hill, NJ
If you hope to obtain a settlement or favorable verdict in your personal injury case, speaking to a lawyer should be one of the first steps you take. Once you are in stable condition after your accident, consulting with a lawyer will help you identify and preserve important evidence, like medical records, that were created during your treatment. Your attorney can also recommend steps you can take in the future to strengthen your case or potentially increase the amount of compensation you receive.
For New Jersey residents who were injured in car accidents, slip and fall incidents, defective product cases, and in a range of other personal injury matters, our Cherry Hill injury lawyers may be able to help. Contact us today!