If you have suffered an injury and want to pursue legal action, whether it is because of a car accident, a slip-and-fall incident, or even medical malpractice, there is one crucial step if you intend to work with a personal injury lawyer in Knoxville to pursue compensation—documenting your injuries and subsequent treatment! In order to successfully recover damages, your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville needs to provide solid evidence of your injuries, your treatment, and what your future medical care is likely to look like. The key to providing that evidence is proper documentation.

Types of Medical Evidence

Your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville can use many different types of medical evidence when seeking fair compensation for your injuries. The more you have, the better the evidence, so it is important to keep everything and let the lawyer determine what will be useful. Some of the types of medical evidence they might be able to use include the following:

  • Medical Records - These are one of the most important types of evidence and include everything from your initial intake records and discharge papers to your doctor’s notes, surgical reports, x-rays, MRI or CAT scan images, diagnosis notes, and anything else relating to the injury.
  • Photographic Evidence - Lawsuits take time, so your injuries may be visibly healed by the time you head to court. Taking photographs or videos of the injuries both at the time they occur and throughout the healing process will help to provide proof of the severity of the injuries.
  • Witness Testimony - If anyone witnessed the accident, getting their testimony about what they saw is important.
  • Expert Testimony - A personal injury lawyer in Knoxville may call on an independent medical professional to act as an expert witness regarding the severity of the injury and how it may impact your life moving forward.
  • Medical Bills - You can submit detailed records of any medical bills from medical providers for treatment, surgery, rehab, and other medical expenses.
  • Prescription Records - It is also important to demonstrate the cost of your ongoing medical care with records and receipts for prescription medications and medical supplies.
  • Proof Of Lost Earnings - Employer statements, tax returns, and pay stubs can prove a loss of earnings if you have been left unable to work.
  • Financial Records - Bank statements and receipts can be submitted as evidence to prove financial losses for out-of-pocket expenses related to your injuries.
  • Future Care Plans - A future care plan can help to establish expected medical costs for the ongoing treatment of your injuries.
  • Journals - If you have maintained a journal since the accident that details things like pain levels, emotional distress, medical treatments, and your general state of mind, these can also be submitted as evidence.

Establishing How Severe The Injuries Are

Following an accident, it is important to seek medical treatment immediately, even if you feel like you may not be badly hurt. Without medical records, you have no evidence that an injury occurred. Injuries may not manifest immediately, so it is important to have a full examination. If you don’t seek medical attention until days or even weeks after the accident, your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville may have a more difficult time proving that the injuries are linked to the accident.

Proving Causation

It isn’t enough to prove that you have been injured. Your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville must also prove that the negligent party is responsible for causing your injuries and related financial damages. As noted previously, medical records are one of the best pieces of evidence you have to prove how and when your injuries were sustained.

Tracking Your Medical Expenses

When your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville claims damages on your behalf, they are not limited to the immediate medical expenses following the accident. If there will be follow-up treatment or long-term care, then you are also entitled to compensation to cover those future medical expenses. It may also be necessary to make adaptations to your home to accommodate your injury, and you would also be eligible for compensation for those. You must document all of your medical appointments and bills as well as documents detailing ongoing treatment plans. This will make it easier for your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville to calculate current and future medical expenses to determine how much financial compensation they should request.

Providing Evidence in Court

Like any other lawsuit, when a personal injury claim goes to court, your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville needs to provide evidence to support your case. Comprehensive medical records, receipts, and medical bills will serve as solid evidence of your injuries and the financial hardships they may have caused in terms of medical expenses, property damage, and loss of earnings. The more documentation you have available, the more substantial your evidence will be. The court is unlikely to acknowledge injuries if you do not have the medical proof to back them up.

Protecting Against Legal Challenges

While your personal injury lawyer in Knoxville is focused on recovering damages for you, the other party’s lawyer and/or insurance company is doing whatever they can to reduce the payout or avoid having to pay at all. They will do anything they can to downplay the injuries or cast doubt on the defendant’s liability. However, it is far more difficult for them to do so if you have detailed medical records and other documentation to support your side of the story.

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Butler, Vines and Babb is a leading law firm in Knoxville, TN, with extensive litigation experience in Medical Malpractice Law, Birth Injury Law, Trucking Accident Law, Personal Injury Law, and Business Law. Contact us today at www.bvblaw.com or call 865-637-3531.

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