How Important Are Evidence And Witnesses In A Personal Injury Case?
Evidence and witnesses can be extremely important to your claim. In fact, there are some claims for which they may be downright necessary.
For example, imagine you are shopping in a store and slip and fall. You may be embarrassed, and people may stare at you. However, if you are hurt, just want to get out of there and get home. So, you check out and leave as soon as possible.
The above scenario is common, and here’s where evidence and/or a witness come in: how do you prove you were actually in the store and that the accident really happened?
If the paramedics weren’t called and there is no paramedic report documenting the incident, how can you prove the incident happened, and in what store it happened?
With evidence and witnesses, that’s how. Witnesses can corroborate your testimony. They can testify that they saw you in the store on that specific date, that they saw you fall. They can testify that they saw you struggling to get up and that they saw you limping to the check-out lane. And evidence in the form of a receipt for your purchases can prove you were at the store on that specific date.
So, both evidence and witnesses can be vital to a claim.
Save all your receipts, your purchases, and the shoes you were wearing when you fell. If you have a cell phone, take photographs of the item/spill over which you tripped. If you are alone at the time of the incident, ask someone to help you. Call for a manager and request an incident report be written, and make sure you get a copy of the report prior to leaving the building.
Should The Person Keep A Diary Of Events, Documenting Doctor Visits, etc.?
To help our clients and the general public, the offices of Attorney Robert Fenstersheib provide a free TellRobert phone app that works on iPhones and android phones.
With the TellRobert phone app, everyone can have all the tools necessary to document the details of an accident.
You can auto-dial their office, call an ambulance and even find the nearest hospital. The app also has an “Accident Tip Checklist,” “Capture Accident Details” and an “Expense Log” to help you track your medical expenses, lost wages, pharmaceutical bills and much more.
Yes, the attorneys at Fenstersheib Law Group advise that clients keep a detailed journal of their medical treatment, the names and addresses of the physicians they see, and especially the details of the accident.
Make sure to write down the full and complete details of the accident as they come to you, and add to it each time additional details come to mind.
Insurance companies will often attempt to deny a claim based on a “gap in medical treatment.” For this reason, it can be vital to keep a detailed journal of your treatment and the names of your physicians.
You may forget to mention to us a physician who you saw, and if we don’t know about the doctor, we can’t get their records. So, we would be missing records and this results in a “gap in treatment.” Or you may remember you did see the physician, but you don’t remember his or her name or address, and again, a gap in treatment is created due to lack of information.
It is imperative that you keep a detailed list of your treatment providers and the dates of treatment.
How Soon After An Accident Should Someone Seek Treatment?
The answer to this question is that your health and safety are always the most important things. If you have been in any sort of accident, get yourself checked out by a physician as soon as possible. Nothing can replace your health and safety, or the health and safety of your loved ones.
Answering this question from a legal perspective, evaluation from a medical provider is what establishes the fact that you have been injured.
For example: you were in a car accident. You feel stiff and sore but try to “tough it out.” Two weeks go by before you finally admit your pain isn’t going away, and you go to the emergency room.
The defense may look at this gap between the accident and the date of treatment and think, “if he was really hurt in the accident, he would have gone to the ER immediately. Maybe the client fell or got in another accident and is trying to blame it on the previous accident.”
Establishing an injury related to your specific accident is very important. The first step is to be evaluated by a medical professional as soon as possible. If you have been injured in the accident, this immediate medical evaluation can establish the facts about the injury and relate the injury directly to your accident.
If you are not sure about the Things To Take Care Of in a Personal Injury Case, call the Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., now for a FREE initial consultation at 800-835-5762 & 954-456-2488 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking
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