Personal injury accidents typically involve costly medical expenses. So, when building a personal injury claim, it is crucial you have an experienced Personal Injury Lawyer who can secure key medical evidence to support your damages and ensure you are fully compensated for your medical costs.
The Importance of Medical Evidence in a California Personal Injury Claim
Your medical records will provide crucial evidence as to the extent of your injuries, the treatment required, and the overall impact your injury has had on your life. For this reason, it is important to seek medical treatment immediately after an accident, even if you do not believe you were injured. The positive impact of medical evidence in your personal injury case can be lessened if you delay medical treatment. A delay in medical treatment will give the insurance company reason to believe your injuries were not that serious and your life was minimally impacted by any pain you were experiencing.
Medical evidence plays an important role in personal injury claims by:
- Showing evidence of real injuries: medical evidence such as an MRI, X-ray, or doctor’s diagnosis will demonstrate you were injured as a result of an accident. This will make it hard for the insurance company to dispute or minimize your claim.
- Demonstrating Causation: medical evidence can prove fault by detailing the nature of your injury, the severity, and the timeline in which the injury occurred. Medical evidence will make it easier for an insurance adjuster, a judge, or a jury to understand how much medical treatment and the extent of your pain and suffering after an injury.
- Calculating Damages: medical evidence can include bills from hospital stays, doctor’s visits, surgical procedures, and other treatments from medical specialists. Medical damages are a large part of your economic damages and can be calculated based on current and future treatment required by your personal injury.
- Establishing Continued Care: if your personal injury requires continued care, then your long-term care diagnosis will establish that your injury was severe and has done long-lasting damage to your life with the potential for permanent disability.
Gaps in Treatment that Won’t Hurt Your Claim
Life can throw a lot of obstacles in our way that don’t always line up with our schedules. And sometimes, we all miss doctor’s appointments due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. That does not mean we are not injured or experiencing pain. In the case of getting treatment for your personal injury claim, the same unpredictable nature of life applies. So, if there is a justifiable reason as to why you have a gap in treatment, then it will not impact your claim. Other acceptable gaps in treatment include:
- Needing to see a specialist who was booked out for a long time
- Dealing with a sick family member
- Recovering from surgery
Steps to Protect Your Claim
To build a strong case for your personal injury claim you will need to minimize gaps in medical treatment and consider the following steps:
- Follow medical advice: attend all scheduled appointments and adhere to your healthcare provider’s recommended treatment plan.
- Document everything: keep detailed records of all medical visits, treatments received, and any communication with healthcare providers regarding your injuries.
- Communicate proactively: if financial or logistical issues arise, communicate these challenges with your lawyer or healthcare provider to explore alternative solutions
What Damages Can Be Claimed in a Personal Injury Case in California?
California law permits injured parties to recover compensation for damages sustained from a personal injury according to California Civil Code 3333. This statute states:
“For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not.”
There are three damages you can claim that will have a substantial impact on the amount of compensation you can expect to receive from a personal injury claim. These damages include:
- Economic damages: financial damages you incurred due to the accident. These include:
- Medical bills
- Lost Wages
- Loss of future potential earnings
- Loss of property
- Cost of repairs
- Non-economic damages: these are subjective, non-compensatory damages. These include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages: these are damages awarded to serve as punishment to the at-fault party. Although rare, they can sometimes be claimed, depending on the details of the accident. These include:
- Reckless behavior
- Actions performed out of spite
Get Legal Assistance Securing Medical Evidence
If you or a loved one has been injured in any type of accident, contact one of our skilled Personal Injury Attorneys at Maison Law to get the compensation you need to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and emotional damage. From San Diego to San Francisco, we support California accident victims across the Golden State and will pursue justice for the impact your injuries have had on your life. Protect your right to compensation and contact Maison Law today. Our consultation is 100% free and you don’t pay a cent until we’ve won your case.
