We cannot overstate the importance of documentation after a car accident. Documentation proves the harm you’ve suffered because of the accident. When your attorney demands compensation for you, this documentation will show that their demands are justified.
Documentation can take many forms. Medical records, medical bills, financial statements, and expert testimony are just some types of documentation your lawyer may use in your case. Allow an attorney to gather and manage documentation, as well as handle the other responsibilities your case requires.
Documentation That Can Prove the Cost of a Car Accident
The documentation your lawyer gathers after your accident should show all the effects of your accident. Survivors don’t just face financial costs, but they also face pain and suffering, too. Your documentation should illustrate both the economic and non-financial costs of the collision.
Some of the documentation that may be most valuable to your case includes:
Medical Documentation
Injuries are the primary reason why many car accident survivors hire an attorney. It’s only fitting, then, that documentation of the client’s damages includes documentation of their injuries.
Some types of medical documentation your attorney may use include:
- X-rays
- CT scans
- Other medical images
- Your doctors’ written diagnoses of injuries
- Your doctors’ evaluations of your symptoms
- Medical bills
Your lawyer will secure any image, record, bill, or insight documenting your injuries, symptoms, and treatments.
Mental Health-Related Documentation
Auto accidents can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other types of pain and suffering. These are some of the most unique and arguably subjective damages you will face.
Your attorney may document the psychological and emotional effects of your car accident with:
- A mental health professional’s diagnosis of PTSD, anxiety, depression, or any other conditions related to the accident
- Bills for any mental health services you receive after the accident
- Your testimony about distress, fear of being in motor vehicles, or other non-economic effects of the collision
Pain and suffering can be among the most expensive damages for car accident victims. Your lawyer will ensure extensive documentation of your pain and suffering.
Experts’ Evaluations, Records, and Testimony
If your attorney takes one stance, and an insurance company takes the opposing stance, how do you determine who is correct? Hiring experts is one step your lawyer may take to strengthen their case.
Experts may:
- Testify about your injuries—possibly including the severity of symptoms, cost of treatment, and timetable for your recovery (or the possibility that your injuries will be permanently disabling)
- Help value the cost of your case
- Refute arguments made against your case
- Provide your lawyer with advice and insights that contribute to a stronger case
Attorneys and experts know each other well. If you find an experienced car accident lawyer to handle your case, they will surely know several experts ready to contribute to your case.
Bank Statements
Many losses resulting from a car accident are financial. This means that bank statements can be a valuable means of proving:
- Income lost after the accident
- Diminished earning power related to injuries or trauma
- The cost of medical care, vehicle repairs, or other items and services related to the car accident
- Other financial losses resulting from your accident
With your permission, your attorney can use bank records to show the financial cost of your collision.
Receipts
Like bank records, receipts can prove the financial cost of a car accident. You might have receipts from the technicians who repair your vehicle, medical providers who treated you after the accident, rideshare services used while you were without a vehicle (or too fearful to drive), or other accident-related items and services.
Your Honest Account of the Accident’s Effects on Your Life
In some respects, nobody is more qualified to speak about the cost of your car accident than you are. You might tell your attorney about:
- The physical pain you endured, and may still be enduring, due to accident-related impact and injuries
- Any psychological stress, worry, and anxiety related to your collision
- Any emotional harm you’ve felt in the wake of the accident
- The quality of life you’ve lost because of the effects of the crash
Your attorney will document and present such testimony if they believe it will secure the compensation you deserve.
Thinking About Hiring a Lawyer? Here’s Why You Should Trust a Car Accident Attorney
First, we must point out that a lawyer will be compassionate in their service to you. Lawyers know that clients are not always eager to discuss their pain or even share financial information. These steps are necessary, though, and your lawyer will document your case in the most respectful, non-invasive manner possible.
You can and should trust a car accident lawyer with your case because:
Experience Prepares Your Lawyer for Your Case
If there is one word that summarizes why many car accident survivors trust their case outcome to a lawyer, it’s “experience.” An attorney’s experience may include:
- Interacting with many different insurance companies and convincing those insurance companies to pay their clients
- Encountering and working around the challenges that can arise during a car accident case, from a lack of evidence to lowball settlement offers
- Representing clients with vastly different physical injuries and pain and suffering
Lawyers exit law school with a firm grasp of local statutes and case law. Their time representing clients prepares them even more for the demands of car accident cases.
Your Attorney Will Be the Buffer Between You and Insurers
Some car accident survivors have the wrong idea about insurance companies. They think, just because they have paid an insurance company money, the insurer is on their side. The truth is that insurance companies often do what’s best for themselves—that often means not paying claimants fairly.
Some of the bad-faith strategies your lawyer will protect you from are:
- Misrepresenting the terms of the contract (a policy is, at its core, a contract)
- Claiming that you’re at fault for the accident (though evidence may plainly show you’re not)
- Denying your claim
- Offering a lowball settlement, knowing full well the settlement amount will not cover your losses
This list does not include the countless negotiation tactics insurers may use to avoid their financial responsibility to you. You might not even recognize these bad-faith tactics, but an experienced attorney will—and that attorney will not tolerate these tactics for a second.
Car Accident Lawyers Bring Valuable Resources with Them
Lawyers are often part of a package deal. In addition to your attorney, your decision to hire a lawyer may net you:
- Paralegals, who may expedite the process of a car accident claim or lawsuit
- Support staff, who can ensure you’re attended to throughout the case
- Any of the aforementioned experts your lawyer retains—your law firm will cover their fees
Attorneys also have financial resources that can reap dividends in your case. These resources may allow your lawyer to hire experts, commission exhibits, and take other steps to push your case over the top.
It’s Your Case, But Your Lawyer’s Advice May Help You Make the Right Moves
Your attorney will use their legal training, experience, and keen insights to position you for success. Ultimately, it’s your case. You can use their advice to make the decisions you believe are right. These decisions can include:
- Whether to accept any settlement offers from insurance companies
- Whether to file a lawsuit
- Whether to settle a lawsuit or proceed to trial
Hire an attorney. You should be focused on your health. Let your lawyer be responsible for your case. Together, you and your lawyer will ensure your recovery as soon as possible while your case gets the attention it requires.
Documenting Damages Is Just One of Many Steps in a Car Accident Case
You know how a lawyer may document damages from your car accident. That’s hardly all a lawyer will do for you. Expect that your car accident attorney and their team will also:
- Investigate the collision, securing all witness statements, video evidence, photographic evidence, expert testimony, reconstructions, and other proof of who caused the crash
- Identify specific instances of negligence that contributed to the collision, which will be important when proving who is responsible for the cost of your accident
- Document your damages by reaching out to your medical providers, collecting relevant financial records, and securing the other forms of documentation we discussed previously
- Calculate the total cost of your economic and non-economic damages, which will likely tell your attorney how much money you are entitled to
- Pursue a settlement, which tends to be the most efficient way to complete a car accident case (and is how most car accident cases conclude)
- Represent you in any lawsuit or trial you pursue—anytime you’re even considering legal action, hiring a lawyer should be your first step
There is also the paperwork, phone calls, and other unglamorous work necessary to complete a case like yours. Let your car accident lawyer, their paralegals, and support staff manage these important, time-consuming duties for you.
What Clients Do While Their Car Accident Lawyer Fights Their Case
Can you imagine going through a gauntlet of doctor appointments, seeking mental health services, getting your vehicle repaired, getting the rest you need, and handling the day-to-day responsibilities that life requires of you—and then tossing the demands of your case on top of these? Talk about chaos.
Yet, this is the prospect many car accident survivors face when they don’t hire a lawyer after the wreck. Make life far simpler by hiring an attorney. Your mandate will be relatively simple while your lawyer fights for the money you deserve:
- Be alert to your lawyer’s calls, text messages, and emails
- Follow your lawyer’s guidance
- Do what your doctors tell you to do
- Don’t speak directly with insurance companies or attorneys representing others involved in your accident
- Take care of yourself
You’ll notice this list does not include tasks like “getting video from the traffic camera that recorded your collision.” Remember, when you hire a lawyer, your entire case becomes their domain.
Damages Are Critical to a Car Accident Case. These Damages May Be Part of Yours.
Your lawyer will be pursuing all the money you deserve. How they determine how much money you deserve will come down to your damages. Some of the damages frequently resulting from car accidents are:
Medical Costs
The details of your accident-related injuries will affect the value of your case. This is because medical costs are, in most cases, a notable portion of accident victims’ damages.
Your lawyer will contact your medical providers, evaluate medical records, total your medical bills, and consider any future medical care you might need.
Pain and Suffering
Some types of pain and suffering you might deserve compensation for are:
- Lost sleep
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Emotional anguish
- Psychological distress
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- Depression
Your attorney will ensure you get proper evaluation and treatment for your pain and suffering, which will be a vitally important feature of your case.
Lost Income and Other Professional Damages
If you have lost income, forfeited earning power, missed bonus opportunities or promotion windows, or suffered other professional damages, your lawyer will seek fair compensation for these losses.
Property-Related Expenses
Your attorney will determine the cost of:
- Repairing or replacing your vehicle
- Repairing or replacing any other property damaged in the crash
- Getting you temporary transportation
- Any other property-related costs related to your case
Depending on the nature and extent of property damage, these expenses can be substantial.
The Added Challenge of a Disability
If one or more of your accident-related injuries prove to be a disability, this will be significant to your lawyer. A disability typically causes both economic and non-economic stress that attorneys know well.
Do Not Wait Any Longer to Hire an Attorney After Your Car Accident
Whether you resolve your case through an insurance claim or ultimately decide to sue, time is precious. Your lawyer may create a stronger case if they can get started right away. They will also face less risk of missing the statute of limitations, which may be closer than you realize.
Don’t wait to find your car accident attorney today.