If you suffer a personal injury as the result of the negligence or actions of another person, you are going to want to be compensated for the injuries you suffered. These damages can take the form of physical injuries requiring medical care and rehabilitation. You may suffer traumatic injuries resulting in pain and suffering or psychological and mental damage. Your injuries may also cause you to lose time at work or even leave you too disabled to perform the work you were doing before the accident. In order to collect for these injuries, you and your attorney will have to prove the extent of your damages. This is why it is crucial to work with an experienced personal injury attorney here in New Jersey to properly document your injuries when filing a personal injury claim.
Proof of causation
At the outset of your claim, you will need to prove that the other party was the proximate cause of your injuries. This will involve documenting the accident that resulted in you being harmed. If this was a traffic accident, a police report and any footage from vehicle dash cams will be useful. You should also obtain eyewitness statements if at all possible. For other types of accidents, such as those that happen at a place of business or at a public area like a mall, you should try to get any surveillance camera footage and incident reports as well. The goal is to be able to prove that the actions or negligence of the other party caused your injuries.
Physical injuries
The most common damages suffered in an accident are physical injuries. This can entail such things as fractures and broken bones, internal injuries, cuts and bruises, and head and neck injuries. You are going to want to have photographs taken contemporaneously with your accident, which will show the extent of your physical injuries. This is especially true if the injuries resulted in facial disfigurement or loss of a body part.
A key piece of documentation will be the medical records. This will not only be from the emergency room and hospital, but also from physical therapists and anyone else who helped you rehab your injuries. This documentation will be of critical importance because it will not only show the cost you incurred for your injuries, but will also help a jury or claims adjuster understand the pain and suffering you endured. If any of the injuries are permanent, this will be reflected in the medical records.
Mental and psychological injuries
The trauma of being injured in an accident consists of more than the scars and broken bones you may have endured. It will also involve things like mental anguish and ongoing psychological problems. This is akin to posttraumatic stress disorder. You may also lose the ability to enjoy relations with your partner, often referred to as consortium. To document these injuries, you will need to see a mental health specialist, such as a psychiatrist, social worker or neurologist. The reports prepared by these professionals will provide crucial documentation of your injuries. This will then allow you to receive compensation for these injuries as well.
Lost wages and economic damages
There is a very good chance that if you have been hospitalized as a result of the accident, you will miss some time at your job. Your payroll records and tax returns will show the wages you normally received before you were injured. You will then be able to show how many days of work you lost as a result of your injuries. This can be confirmed with letters from your physician and your employer.
There are other economic damages that will need to be documented. If any property was damaged or destroyed, you can provide documentation of value so you can be compensated for your losses. For high-value items, you can obtain an appraisal from an expert in the field.
If your physical injuries have rendered you incapable of working or have reduced your employability in any way, you can get compensated for loss of future wages. This will involve showing what you were earning before you were hurt by payroll records, tax returns and employment contracts. This will then be calculated to your expected retirement age. The compensation for any work you are currently capable of doing will be subtracted from this amount. The result will be your future expected earnings. Your attorney can arrange for an expert to provide this calculation on your behalf.
Contact Our New Jersey Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injury claims involve many types of damages that you may have suffered, many of them life-altering. The experienced personal injury attorneys at The Cassidy Law Firm LLC will provide you with the assistance you need to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.