The whole point of a personal injury lawsuit is to find accountability and recover compensation for the harm that’s been caused to you. But even if you successfully impose liability, there’s no guarantee on the amount of compensation you’ll recover.
You might increase your chances of recovering the compensation you need by tracking your losses. That way you’ll have stronger evidence showing the extent of your damages, which is what you need to secure a robust recovery.
How do you track your damages? Let’s take a closer look.
Tracking financial damages after your car accident
Your financial losses are going to make up a significant part of your damages. This includes medical expenses and lost wages, which sound easy enough to calculate, but there can be more to keep track of here than you think. That’s why as you move forward with your recovery, you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing each of the following:
- Keeping a running list of all payments made to medical providers, specifying to whom the payment was made, when the payment was made, how much the payment was for, and what the payment covered.
- Creating a physical or electronic file to hold all of your medical bills, invoices, receipts, and pay stubs.
- Finding a place to keep all of your medical records so that you can easily access all of them.
- Combing through your bank and credit card statements to highlight all payments made for accident-related expenses.
- Keeping a calendar of days of missed work so that you can quickly calculate lost wages.
- Finding an expert or two who can provide an opinion as to your future need for care and treatment, the costs associated with such treatment, and the impact your injuries have on your ability to work and increase your earnings capacity.
By being detailed and thorough, you can better position yourself to recover the financial losses that you deserve.
Tracking non-economic damages after your car accident
Financial damages aren’t the only losses that you’re going to experience after your car wreck. You’ll also have to deal with the mental, emotional, and psychological realities of your situation. These damages are compensable, too. Here’s how you can track these losses:
- Keep a journal that details how your mental anguish has negatively impacted your daily living and reduced your enjoyment of life.
- Assign a number to your pain on a daily basis, just like doctors do when they ask you about your physical injuries, so that it’s easily contextualized.
- Retain all of your therapy and other mental health treatment records in an easily accessible location.
- Ask family and friends to write affidavits or agree to testify as to their observations of how the accident has impacted your mood, behavior, and overall ability to enjoy life and work.
There may be other effective ways for you to track your non-economic expenses here. Get creative in thinking about how you can paint the picture of your newfound life for the judge and jury.
Know how to build the comprehensive personal injury case you need
If you want to recover as much as you can from your personal injury case, then you need to be thorough in gathering evidence and crafting your legal arguments. If you miss something, then you might lose out on much needed compensation. That’s why before moving forward with your claim, you should develop a game plan that puts you on the path to success.
