Medical records play a key role in personal injury cases. Whether you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip and fall or any other incident caused by another’s negligence, thorough and accurate medical documentation can significantly influence the outcome of your case. Here’s why it matters—and how to keep your own records.
Why are medical records so important?
Medical records provide a detailed account of your injuries, from the initial diagnosis to the treatment plan and recovery process. They include physician’s notes, diagnostic test results, treatment details and prescribed medications. Medical records are often used to support testimonies from medical experts who can provide an objective evaluation of your injuries and prognosis. This documentation and testimony can demonstrate the severity of your injuries and the impact on your life.
In personal injury cases, it’s also important to prove that your injuries were directly caused by the accident. Medical records can help establish this causation by showing a clear timeline of when and how the injuries occurred, and the subsequent medical attention required.
Furthermore, ongoing treatment records are necessary to illustrate the long-term effects of your injuries and the associated costs. They provide evidence of the medical care you’ve received. This helps quantify the economic and non-economic damages you’re entitled to.
Keeping a pain journal
While medical records are critical, maintaining a “pain journal” can be helpful to your case by providing a personal and detailed account of your experiences and symptoms over time. A pain journal is a personal record where you document your pain levels, symptoms, medical appointments, medications and daily experiences related to your injury. This journal offers a day-to-day account of how your injuries affect your life, providing additional context to the clinical data in your medical records.
Your pain journal allows you to track changes in your symptoms and pain levels over time. Documenting these changes helps establish the progression or regression of your condition, which can be valuable in showing the ongoing impact of your injuries.
Beyond clinical symptoms, your pain journal should capture how your injuries affect your daily activities and overall quality of life. Documenting struggles with mobility, sleep disturbances, emotional distress and other daily challenges provides a comprehensive view of your suffering and the non-economic damages you’ve endured.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, be sure to keep meticulous records of your medical treatments and a pain journal—then call the Law Offices of Tim Misny for help recovering compensation.
Talk to an Ohio personal injury attorney today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your accident claim. If you or a loved one were injured due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (800) 556-4769 so that I can evaluate your case right away.