What Should I Put In A Personal Injury Journal?

One of the most important things that you can do after a car accident is to keep a personal injury journal. The purpose of the journal is to fully document and accurately explain how you have been affected by your injuries, as well as to note the level of pain and discomfort that you experience as you go on with your day-to-day activities. Your personal injury lawyer in Lakeland will explain to you all the information it should contain. However, it would be very beneficial if you began the personal injury journal as soon as possible after the accident occurs. When a car accident claim is evaluated, the insurance company looks at the facts and bases all their decisions on those facts. Having detailed information to provide to the insurer will be very good for your claim.

What To Write In The Journal

You should begin your personal injury journal with details about the accident. You want to provide as much information as possible. Include everything you remember right before the accident occurred, what happened during the accident if you remember and what occurred right after it ended. You will want to document things like the time of day, the type of weather on that day and whether there was any road construction in the area. You will want to include anything that you noticed around you, such as witnesses or if the other person involved in the accident was doing something such as talking on their phone while driving. You will also want to start a page in your personal injury journal that describes how the accident has impacted your life. In it you will detail your injuries and how they have affected you. Include how you feel physically and emotionally and talk about the impact that the injuries have had on your life.

How Often Should You Make Entries?

Following the accident, you will need to write entries in the journal on a daily basis. As time passes, the entries may be reduced, but you should never go for more than seven days without posting something in the journal. Anything that is relevant about the injury should be notated.

Putting The Right Information In Your Journal

Your personal injury lawyer in Lakeland will help you define what is important to keep in your journal and how it should be stated. For instance, instead of saying things like, “I had to go to physical therapy yet again,” you could make an entry into the journal that states: “I went to the physical therapist today, and this was the 11th visit this month. Since this began, I have had nine doctor appointments and 23 physical therapy sessions.”

Additionally, you should make a particular note of each body part that experiences any level of pain and discomfort. Keep detailed information about the symptoms and problems that you are experiencing, and be specific. Do not write: “Just don’t feel good again today.” Instead, document something like, “I am still struggling with the pain in my shoulder, and it is causing me such a bad headache. I have reported this to my doctor and asked if there was anything that could help.” When you keep detailed information like this about your case, it is very hard for the insurer to deny your claims. Your attorney will be able to compose a very specific demand for compensation based on the actual information from the journal. Any questions that may arise will be able to be answered from the journal and any other supporting evidence.

Record Pain And Suffering, Too

Your Lakeland personal injury lawyer will also inform you that, because the law recognizes a person’s right to receive just compensation for pain and suffering, the ways in which your pain, suffering and injuries affect your overall temperament, work performance and even your marital relations will be quite important and relevant to your personal injury case.

As you continue to write in your journal about how your injuries are affecting your life in general, you should make sure that you are expressing your true feelings in your own words (not the words of your physician), especially when you detail specific information about your pain and suffering. Also, you should maintain your diary each day in the same manner that you would if you were not using it as part of a court case.

The Privacy Issue

You should be made aware of the fact that if your case is taken to court, the diary that you have kept will most likely be submitted as evidence. This means that the opposing side and the judge will have the authority to read everything that is contained within the journal. This should not be an issue if everything that you have disclosed within the journal is honest and can be supported by other evidence. As a caution, however, make sure that you keep everything in your journal as professional and businesslike as possible. Even if you are angry about what has happened to you, never put any derogatory language in the journal or make accusations. In some cases, the court may determine that the journal is privileged information. When the journal is kept at the advice of the attorney for the attorney, the journal is seen as privileged information. However, if you begin the journal prior to hiring an attorney, it can be used as evidence.

Speak to an Attorney About Your Personal Injury Journal Today

If you have been injured in an accident and have begun to document the information about the event, you should contact Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A.. You can schedule a free consultation by sending an email or calling 863-336-6927. During your consultation, the attorney will provide you with all the necessary information about your case, including what you should document in your personal injury journal in order to have the most successful claim possible for compensation for your injuries.