8 Ways To Organize Your Case For Maximum Value
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By David Brauns
One of the most important things you can do to help your own case is to keep accurate medical records by:
* Asking for a medical bill each time you see a doctor or facility – EVEN if your insurance is paying for it;
* Save all prescription bills and bottles. Sometimes a pile of pill bottles in front of a jury works better than words in describing your ordeal ;
* Keep a separate chart/list with dates, amounts of medical bills, and purchases of medication or equipment. This amount may be greater than just medical bills because you could be buying such things as heating pads, sleeping aids, supportive devices, etc. Your lawyer may use this list to show the other side or the jury how much trouble you have in dealing with your injuries.
Even though your attorney will obtain copies of your medical bills and records directly from the medical facilities, your documents will provide a crucial double-check process that assures your claim is settled for maximum value. Your attorney cannot demand compensation for bills he does not know about. Attorneys will tell you that all to frequently a facility will only send them a portion of your bills because they may have switched outsourcing billing agencies for example.
Another critical task that you, as the client are responsible for is organizing and documenting how your life was affected by the accident. You want to do the following:
* Keep any written statements you made or someone else gave, whether to the police, a doctor, or an insurance investigator. If you do not have copies of these statements, at least make a note of you remembering or seeing a statement given.
* Keep all letters to/from insurance adjusters, including emails, and any business cards that anyone has handed you.
* Keep a journal/diary of how your life has been affected by the accident. List the things you cannot do now and things you can still do but with pain. Describe how your day is with pain or embarrassing incidents that happen because of your injuries. Keep each entry short and to the point. This helps your attorney to craft a compelling argument for your pain and suffering damages. If you do not write this stuff down as it happens, you will forget all the little things and will not be able to tell your attorney how your life was really affected.
* Keep all proof of your car’s property damage. This includes photographs, repair estimates, or repair bills. The damage to your car is usually very compelling evidence of how severe the accident was.
* Locate or obtain a copy of your insurance policy. Your attorney will want to review your policies policy to determine if you have additional insurance coverage available.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Brauns is an experienced personal injury trial attorney practicing in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career working for insurance companies with the intention of learning how they defended serious personal injury cases so that he could one day start his own law firm and oppose them. Unlike other personal injury lawyers, David only takes a select number of cases each year to ensure that he is strategically litigating each of his clients’ cases towards maximum value.
Visit http://www.braunslaw.com to learn more about your case and how to hire the right lawyer. David created a website focused on you, the potential client with lots of questions about your case, and not some brochure website that just talks about his firm. Read http://www.braunslaw.com now, before you retain a lawyer.
David promises you will learn something that improves either your case or your relationship with your attorney. Or, you can call David at (770) 783-1388.
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