Senior Partner
For most people, the new year is a time for celebration and anticipation of great things to come. Unfortunately, however, many people struggle with injuries as they enter the new year. Although the new year doesn’t necessarily change the way you should approach your personal injury claim, it offers an opportunity for a fresh start and—hopefully—financial compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. In this article, we discuss how to prepare for personal injury claims as the new year begins.
Seek Medical Care
If you are injured going into the new year, the first thing you should do is seek medical care. In addition to ensuring that your injuries are promptly treated, there are legal reasons to seek medical care. As a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, the burden is on you to prove that the accident you were involved with caused your physical injuries. A key piece of evidence in proving this is the existence of medical records. Unless you obtain medical care for your injuries, you will have no records to submit in your case.
In addition, any delays in seeking medical care could result in allegations from the other party that you failed to mitigate your damages. Mitigation of damages means that reasonable steps were taken by a plaintiff to avoid increasing his or her damages. If the other side can prove that your failure to seek immediate medical attention caused your injuries to worsen, then you might not receive full compensation for all damages.
Gather Evidence
Medical records are just one important type of evidence needed to pursue a personal injury claim in the new year. In addition to medical records, it’s important to gather the following types of evidence for your personal injury claim:
- Photographs and videos of the scene of the accident
- Photographs and videos of any visible injuries
- Accident reports
- Medical bills
- Financial documents
- Witness information
- Witness statements
- Insurance documents
Document and Value Your Damages
In a personal injury case, you may be entitled to both economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages include things like medical bills, lost wages, travel expenses, and out-of-pocket expenses related to your injury. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, cover the physical pain and mental suffering associated with your injury. Therefore, following an accident in the new year, it’s important to keep track of your damages. In other words, you should track all costs associated with your injury and save all related documentation, such as receipts, bills, and out-of-pockets expenses. In addition, you should consider keeping a journal to track your mental state following your accident.
Contact Our Long Island & New York Personal Injury Attorney
Finally, if you or a loved one have suffered an injury in the new year, the distinguished law firm of Dell & Dean, PLLC, is on your side. At Dell & Dean, PLLC, our New York personal injury attorneys are highly experienced in representing accident victims and their families in personal injury lawsuits throughout the state of New York. Please contact us to arrange a consultation with a knowledgeable Long Island personal injury attorney.
