If you have sustained a soft tissue injury, you may be suffering from pain and some level of debilitation or limited movement. And if that’s the case, you may also be facing significant financial setbacks.
The silver lining here is that you may be entitled to significant compensation. However, compensation in personal injury cases is dependent on documentation. Below is everything you need to know.
The Importance of Documentation in Legal Claims
Legal claims require strict, clear documentation of most (if not all) aspects involved. Without it, no insurance company will pay a claimant what they deserve. Instead, they will likely deny the claim or pay it out at a heavily reduced rate.
As a soft tissue injury victim, you’d do well to gather and preserve all forms of documentation related to your claim. When you speak with a personal injury attorney, which should be shortly after the injury occurs, these records will help streamline the path you’ll take toward compensation.
Gathering Records — What to Include
With the sheer versatility and capability of today’s technology, gathering and preserving injury documents is as easy as ever. Most records related to an injury and its treatment are made available digitally. As such, obtaining and organizing them is an efficient process.
Nevertheless, you need to know which types of records and documents to gather. These include the following:
Photographs
Photographs can act as powerful evidence in soft tissue injury cases, especially any taken at or near the time of the injury. Important shots to capture are as follows:
- The scene itself from multiple angles and distances
- People present
- Equipment, products, or tools involved
- Injuries sustained
Ultimately, there is no such thing as taking “too many” photos for the sake of documentation. A victim who is in a position to do so should snap away, as the images they gather will help prove the cause and existence of their soft tissue injury.
Medical Records
Medical records are crucial to soft tissue injury compensation cases. They will verify the existence of the injuries through the proper testing mechanism, such as an MRI.
Be that as it may, medical records include more than just test results. They also consist of the following:
- Billing
- Medical histories
- Prescriptions
- Forms and documents filled out by the patient
- Emails and texts from the doctor or hospital
Together, these records will paint the picture of proof you need to help demonstrate the presence of your soft tissue injury and its cause.
Witness Statements
Witness statements are excellent pieces of evidence when they are gathered and memorialized at the time of (or soon after) an accident. They can be documented in a variety of fashions, such as:
- Video recording
- Audio recording
- Being written by hand
In every case, you will want to ensure that you collect each witness’s contact information after gathering their statement.
Personal Injury Journal
Things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and a loss of enjoyment of life represent the non-economic damages you may contend with following a soft tissue injury. The difficulty that these damages give rise to, however, is that they are intangible losses that cannot be proven with something like a bill or account statement. Instead, evidence from the victim’s life must be used, such as testimony contained in a journal.
A well-maintained journal documenting the effects of your soft tissue injury on your life can provide the evidence needed to prove non-economic damages. One might include entries describing the following:
- How the injury has prevented you from engaging in your favorite activities
- Episodes of pain and suffering
- Feelings of depression, anxiety, or other mental results
- Relationship problems caused by the accident
The personal injury journal need not be a novel, but the more you can describe the negative effects of the injury, the stronger your case will typically be.
Work Schedule
If you miss at least three months of work, you can claim lost wages. However, you must have documentation of what your work schedule would have been during the months you missed work. You will also need documentation of your wage or salary. Pay stubs or statements of accounts with direct deposit are commonly used to prove a victim’s income.
How Your Attorney Can Help
An experienced attorney understands how to win soft tissue injury cases. They know what types of evidence are necessary to build a strong case, and they know how to use the law to compel insurance companies to pay fair settlement awards. The claim process for soft tissue and other injuries is highly adversarial, meaning victims have to fight to get what they are owed.
Although an insurance company is more than happy to cut a quick check, that check will be far below what the victim deserves. Victims need seasoned advocates who know the value of their clients’ claims and who know how to recover what’s proper.
FAQ
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Injury Cases?
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Texas is two years from the date the injury occurred. If the injury victim is under the age of 18, the statute of limitations will go into effect on their 18th birthday.
How Much Compensation Can I Get for a Soft Tissue Injury?
Compensation is based on the sum of your economic and non-economic damages. Since each case is different, damages totals cannot be calculated or estimated without first reviewing your case. Additionally, the skill and experience of your injury attorney will typically be a factor in how much compensation you receive.
Can I Afford a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Personal injury lawyers charge you no out-of-pocket costs. Their fees instead come from the damages they recover for you. If they are unsuccessful in recovering compensation for you, you owe them nothing.
Seasoned Representation for Your Injury Case
As an injury victim, you deserve seasoned representation for your soft tissue injury case. Don’t let insurance companies pay you subpar compensation. Reach out to an experienced law firm with a track record of success — Ramsey Law Group — for a free consultation to learn how we can help.