Keeping a Journal Can Help Your Injury Claim

Taking notes in a journal can be incredibly helpful in ensuring you receive maximum compensation for your injury claim. Why? Injury claims can take anywhere from a few months to a couple years. That’s a long time to remember all of the details surrounding the incident, especially with a motor vehicle collision. By starting a journal, you are ensuring that your thoughts, feelings, injuries, and other detailed information are stored in one clear record for you and your attorney to refer back to.

Where to Begin

As soon as you are able to, we encourage injured parties to begin recording the events surrounding the accident. These can include the following:

• The time of day the incident occurred

• Weather conditions

• Road conditions

• People involved

• Actions of the other driver

• What you saw, heard, said, and did

• What happened during the crash

These notes can be very useful down the road when all of the facts are being compiled into a demand to the insurance company.

Documenting Your Injuries

Next, it’s important to keep a detailed record of your injuries stemming from the accident. Here are some suggestions:

• A day-by-day log of your injuries and symptoms

• A list of the doctors you saw for treatment and dates you visited these providers

• A daily log of what you are doing at home for your injuries – exercises, ice, etc.

• A description of how the injuries are impacting your life at home

After you begin to heal, it is sometimes hard to recall the severity of your injuries and symptoms. Recording this information can help your attorney to fight for a higher settlement.

Economic and Other Losses

While it’s obvious that these injuries lead to pain and treatment, many don’t think of the impact it can have on their everyday life. If the injuries caused by the accident cause you to miss work or be unable to perform household chores, you deserve compensation for these economic losses. Here are some ideas of what to track for economic losses:

• Dates of missed work

• Dates of missed or negatively impacted events and social gatherings

• List any regular duties, such as household chores, that your injuries have hindered

• Accommodations made at home – such as bathroom safety rails or a wheelchair ramp

If you need assistive devices, such as a cane, walker, boot, sling, or wheelchair, these often can impact day-to-day functions.

What Else Should I Write Down?

Have you had any conversations with other parties involved in the accident, insurance adjusters, or law enforcement? If so, it is a great idea to write down the date, time, people involved, and content of each conversation.

Physical injuries sometimes lead to emotional and psychological effects. If you experience anxiety, sleep disturbances, depression, worry, etc., document these as well.

Is There Anything Else I Can Do?

Keep track of receipts for damaged property such as car seats, speaker systems and custom rims. Pictures of the accident scene, property damage, and visible injuries are also helpful. If you are worried about losing anything, you can always give copies to your personal injury attorney.

The best way to find out what else you can do to help your injury claim is to ask your attorney. Every case is different, so your personal injury attorney will know what’s best for your specific situation.

To schedule a free consultation with the experienced injury lawyers at Biesterveld & Crook, LLC, click here or call today. We are passionate about helping injury victims hold people and businesses accountable for dangerous behavior.