Documentation can make or break a case for compensation after a personal injury. For instance, if you see a doctor immediately after your injury and the doctor is well-versed in this type of injury and how to document it, that could be a boon for your case.
On the other hand, if the doctor is not the greatest at making notes and organizing thoughts, you or your lawyer may need to take a few steps to ensure your documentation is sound. After all, it is important to be able to show where and when the injury started and how severe it could be down the road, among other things. Here is a look at how another type of documentation, journaling, can help.
A fuller picture not necessarily focused just on the injury
Journals are a great asset, particularly when it comes to dealing with emotional and mental pain. They can show how your injury and its related effects, such as not being able to work or not being able to attend your children’s events, may make you feel anxious, depressed, isolated and so on. The entries also tend to be dated, which helps build a history and timeline.
Journals can also chart how your injuries have changed over time and lend a personal aspect to what can be dry medical terminology. Examples of things you can document in a journal include the following:
- Not being able to get out of bed due to back pain, the events it causes you to miss and how you feel about the situation
- How not being able to work is affecting you physically and emotionally (one example: You cannot pay for child care, so now the children are at home, and you are physically unable to care for them)
- When the pain is unusually intense and how it feels (such as a stabbing and throbbing in your back if you bend)
There are even health diaries you can use to document where and how your pain changes. These diaries may even help you recover better, and they may be valuable to your case if other medical documentation is lacking.