Believe it or not, you have tools on you – in all likelihood -that can make it a lot easier to ensure that a personal injury lawsuit wins if you end up being injured. Here are some of the common tools and how you can use them.
Your Phone
Your phone probably has a camera and a video recorder on it. You should use these in the event of an accident.
If you’re in an accident, start taking photos of the accident site right away. You’re likely not going to remember everything about the accident. The police report will document the accident thoroughly, but the bias will be toward identifying signs of a criminal offence, not cause for a civil lawsuit. The more evidence you can document yourself, the better.
The same holds true in a slip and fall case or a workplace injury. If you have a bad spill or an accident and you’re able, take a picture of the location. This will help an attorney to identify where problems existed. Obviously, some shop owners are going to have a problem with this, and you don’t want to make things worse, but it’s good to try to get an image.
Video can be used for the same purpose and can provide excellent documentation, particularly of what people said after the accident.
Your Notes
Don’t undervalue notes. If you’re able, start taking notes immediately after an accident. You’ll be more likely to remember important details that might slip your mind later. Write down license plate numbers and, of course, get contact information for anyone who may be responsible for the accident.
Remember to ask people around you what they said. If they’re willing, get their names and phone numbers so that your attorney can contact them for more information.
Tracking
After the accident, be sure to document everything related to the incident. Take pictures of injuries and make sure you keep records of bills and other paperwork. If you’re awful with paperwork, at least take a photo of everything so that you don’t lose any records that may become valuable after the fact.
Remember to document your medical treatments after the injury. Video can be used for this, but you can just keep a journal, as well. A journal with pictures can be particularly useful. Remember that your attorney will benefit from more information in all cases, so be sure to take measures to keep good records.