INFORMATION CENTER

  Bar Associations

  Personal Injury

  Animal Bites

  Wrongful Death

  Slip and Fall

  Torts

  Boat Accident

  Motorcycle Injury

  Truck Accidents

  Brain Injury

  Nursing Abuse

Family Sites

Law Firm Sites Adoption Adult Entertainment Aviation Auto Accidnet Bankruptcy Bextra Recall Birth Defect Business Litigation Car Accident Celebrex Recall Child Support Civil Communication Construction Criminal Defense Custody Disability Discrimination Divorce Drug Crime Drug Defense Drug Driving Dui Dwi Elder Entertainemt Estate Estate Planning Employement Federal Defense General Practice Immigration Income Tax Insurance Defense Internet Mal Practice Law Medical Malpractice MotorcycleAccidnet Nation Wide Personal Injury Bail Bondsman Probation Real Estate Sexual Harassment Small Business Social Security Sports Taxation Traffic Violation Trial Truck Accident Unemployment Un-Safe Product Voter Fraud White Collar Will and Trust Workers Comp. Vioxx Recall

Make Notes About Your Accident and Injuries

Writing down the details is far easier -- and more accurate -- than relying on your memory.

One of the first things you should do after you are injured is write down everything you can about your accident, including details of your injuries and their effect on your daily life. These notes can be very useful two or six or ten months later, when you put together all the important facts into a final demand for compensation. Having notes to remind you of the details of what happened, and what you went through, is both easier and more reliable than counting on your memory.

Get into the habit of taking notes on anything you think might possibly affect your claim and carry it through the entire claims process. Whenever you remember something you had not thought of before -- while you're in the shower, just before you fall asleep, as you're biting into a pastry -- write it down and put it with your other notes. Here are some specific things about which you should make notes.

The Accident

As soon as your head is clear enough, jot down everything you can remember about how the accident happened, beginning with what you were doing and where you were going, the people you were with, the time and weather. Include every detail of what you saw and heard and felt -- twists, blows and shocks to your body immediately before, during and right after the accident. Also include anything you remember hearing anyone -- a person involved in the accident or a witness -- say about the accident.

Your Injuries

In the first days following your accident, make daily notes of all pains and discomfort your injuries cause. You may suffer pain, discomfort, anxiety, loss of sleep or other problems which are not as visible or serious as another injury but for which you should demand additional compensation. If you don't make specific note of them immediately, you may not remember exactly what to include in your demand for settlement weeks or months later. Also, taking notes will make it easier for you later to describe to an insurance company how much and what kind of pain and discomfort you were in.

And writing down your different injuries will help you remember to report them to a doctor or other medical provider when you receive treatment. A relatively small bump on the head or snap of the neck, for example, may not seem worth mentioning, but it might help both the doctor and the insurance company understand why a bad back pain developed two or three days, or several weeks, after the accident. Also, by telling the doctor or other medical provider about all of your injuries, those injuries become part of your medical records that will provide evidence later that such injuries were caused by the accident.

Economic or Other Losses

You may be entitled to compensation for economic loss and for family, social, educational or other losses, as well as for pain and suffering. But you will need good documentation. Begin making notes immediately after the accident about anything you have lost because of the accident and your injuries: work hours, job opportunities, meetings, classes, events, family or social gatherings, vacation or anything else which would have benefited you or which you would have enjoyed but were unable to do because of the accident.

Conversations

Make written notes of the date, time, people involved and contents of every conversation you have about your accident or your claim. In-person or telephone conversations worth noting may include those with any witness, adjuster or other insurance representative, or with medical personnel.