Gather Proof for Your Accident Injury Case

If you have suffered injuries and or other losses as a result of a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury claim. In order for you to successfully receive compensation for your personal injury claim or lawsuit it is important you have the necessary proof as to who was at fault for the accident, and the type and severity of your damages. This article will discuss the list of some of the most important documents you will need to gather as proof for your personal injury case.

According to one of the top Bakersfield auto accident lawyers the success of a case lies in how much proof can be provided by the plaintiff. There are various amounts of proof a plaintiff can produce in order to prove their case with regards to fault and the nature and extent of their injuries and damages [Damages | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)]. Some of the most important documents a plaintiff might have in their possession include the following:

• Police reports – a police report may be called an incident, traffic collision or accident report, and can be prepared at the scene or, more  commonly, some time afterwards by a police officer. The information included in a police report is the determinations with regards to whether or not a traffic law was violated, statements provided by witnesses, passengers and drivers and other observations made by the officer.
• Medical records – if you are injured in the accident or were examined as a precaution, ensure you receive all medical records and information with regards to billing linked to your medical treatment. The information in medical records should include the medical professional who attended to you, treatment received, any diagnosis made, recommended treatment, medicines prescribed and any other conclusions or opinions the health care provider offered. Depending on how severe your injuries were and information regarding your treatment you may need to find medical records for emergency medical services, that is, the ambulance or paramedic company who responded to the accident, emergency room treatment, hospital admissions, pharmacy prescriptions, physical therapy and other healthcare providers and specialists you may have seen.
• Proof of income – if the injuries you sustained as a result of the accident caused you to miss work, you may be eligible for compensation for any lost income. Proof of such lost income which can be includes paycheck stubs, tip records, direct deposit records,  profit and loss statements, and any other financial documentation which provides information about the amount of income you lost due to time you missed from work as a result of the accident.
• Proof of vehicle value and/or vehicle damage estimates – if your vehicle was damaged as a result of the accident, you are likely entitled to repairs being paid for as a part of your personal injury lawsuit or claim. To determine how much compensation you will need it is important to know how much repairs will cost. In other cases it might be important to find out the actual cash value of your vehicle before the accident, if the vehicle is worth less than what it would cost to repair.
• Accident or injury journal or diary – this is where you document the impact the accident has had on your day-to-day life.