Documenting Details of Your Injuries and Pain
Probably the most common cause of someone suffering a personal injury is through a car accident, but that’s certainly not the only way you can end up with physical, mental, and emotional problems that are not necessarily of your own doing. You can be out at a department store or supermarket and slip and fall on a wet surface, or even on a loose carpet, and suffer back and neck problems that may require weeks or months to recover from.
There’s also the possibility that you go in for a routine medical procedure or operation and return home, only to begin sensing something went wrong. You may have a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.
In short, you never know when something unexpected can happen, and you might end up with injuries and all the trauma that accompanies them. Your first recourse is to seek compensation for your suffering and losses from the at-fault party’s insurance company. A driver will likely have auto insurance, and the owner-operator of a business will likely have liability insurance.
However, insurance companies are for-profit entities, and they’re not prone to handing out blank checks. Your claim will be examined and challenged from every angle. A claims adjuster will grill you on your part in what happened, hoping to pin some or all of the fault on you to limit their payout, or even deny your claim. What do you do?
Everything starts with collecting and documenting enough data and evidence to drive home your argument and your claim for compensation. Of course, it also helps to have an experienced personal injury attorney guiding you every step of the way and even doing the negotiations with the insurer and answering the claims adjuster’s questions.
If you or a loved one has been injured in or around Knoxville or Farragut, Tennessee, because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or deliberate actions, contact us at the Law Office of Joshua S. Reed.
Our legal team is dedicated to helping you obtain the full and just compensation you deserve for what happened to you because of someone else’s actions or negligence. We will help you assemble the proof necessary to advance your claim, and if necessary, we will pursue a personal injury lawsuit.
The Law Office of Joshua S. Reed also serves clients in the surrounding communities of Anderson, Blount, Union, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Loudon, and Clinton, to list just a few.
Documenting Your Injuries and Pain
If you are involved in a car accident or other incident that causes you injury, your first obligation is to get medical help. Here, however, some people tend to shrug matters off and say to themselves, “Okay, if this gets worse, I’ll go see a doctor.” This can be compounded by the onset of an adrenaline rush that can mask the pain of what happened to you physically. The point is that you need to get a medical evaluation immediately. Symptoms may not show up until hours or days later, so be safe and seek help.
Medical documentation is, of course, a vital part of making an insurance claim or filing a personal injury lawsuit. You will need to assemble every bill and get copies of every test result to back up your efforts for compensation.
Another often-overlooked step is to get the testimony of any witnesses. If someone was present who saw what happened, try to get their statement and contact information. This can be vital in corroborating what you claim.
In a car accident, some drivers may pull over to help. If they do, ask if they saw what happened, and get their statement and contact information. There may also have been pedestrians or others on the side of the road. Likewise, in a slip-and-fall in a store, others may have first-hand knowledge of the incident.
Depending on the nature of the accident or incident, also use your smartphone to take images or videos of the scene, including your injuries. When you can, and as soon as possible, write down or record everything that happened to the best of your memory.
Don’t Overlook Your Mental Trauma
In seeking a personal injury settlement or court award, you need to remember that damages (compensation) are available on two levels. One level is economic for medical and other related expenses, along with any lost wages due to missing work. The other level is non-economic for your pain and suffering. Your life may be momentarily or even permanently altered because of the mental anguish you feel, to say nothing of the physical suffering you are undergoing.
You may want to keep a daily journal of the struggles you have coping with your trauma. You may also want to get statements from family, friends, and co-workers of how you’ve had to adapt and the struggles you’ve been through. In short, don’t just seek reimbursement for your expenses and wage losses, but remember that you are owed compensation for your mental and emotional struggles as well.
Need Legal Help? Call Us Today
Dealing with an insurance company can be challenging and frustrating, especially if you’ve never dealt with a claims adjuster except for a dent on your front fender. When injuries are involved, expenses can rise rapidly, and the insurer and its representatives are going to circle the wagons, so to speak.
If you or a loved one has been injured because of someone else’s negligence or actions in or around Knoxville or Farragut, reach out to us immediately at the Law Office of Joshua S. Reed. We can help you compile a comprehensive and compelling array of documentation and evidence. We will also deal with the claims adjuster, and if matters warrant, we can file a personal injury lawsuit against the insurer and/or the at-fault party. You’ll be in good hands with us.
One final point to remember, however, is that Tennessee imposes a one-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits. The clock starts ticking at the moment of the injury, so move quickly.