Recovering fair compensation after a personal injury can be challenging, especially if your case goes to trial.
As the victim, you must not only prove that another party’s negligence resulted in your injuries, but you must convince the jury of the scope of the injuries and how those injuries will impact your present and future life.
Even if fault can be proven, when it comes to how much compensation a jury will award, having strong evidence from doctors and medical experts is crucial. This is even more true for cases that involve pain and suffering and have the potential for higher payout.
Working with a New York personal injury attorney is one of the most effective ways to ensure that your case is properly valued and that medical documentation is framed in such a way that it convinces a jury.
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we have recovered millions in damages for people whose lives were devastated by injuries someone else caused. I’ll explain why medical evidence is so important below, or to learn more about how we can help, call 1-800-NOW-HURT.
When Does a Personal Injury Case Go to Trial?
While most personal injury cases settle out of court, a case will go to trial if the parties cannot reach an agreement on fair compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Sometimes disagreements happen because the defendant denies fault or the plaintiff is partially responsible for their own injuries. In other cases, it’s because an insurance company offers far less compensation than the plaintiff is entitled to.
Complex cases that involve permanent disability, wrongful death, or expensive medical damages may also go to trial. Regardless of the reasons a case goes to court, medical evidence must be impeccable to convince the jury.
Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Victims can sue for a wide range of damages under New York law, including:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Other financial losses
- Home health workers
- Nannies, or other assistants, or
- Home modifications such as ramps or ADA-accessible appliances
Expenses such as these can be calculated with relative ease because they can be assigned a dollar value. However, victims can also claim non-economic damages including both past and future pain and suffering. These may include:
- Physical pain from injuries, both immediate and chronic
- Emotional pain from losing access to one’s usual life activities
- Stress while awaiting trial
As you can imagine, it is more challenging to quantify these types of damages, which is why a New York personal injury attorney can be helpful.
In some cases, if the at-fault party’s behavior was especially egregious–such as a serious car accident caused by a drunk driver–victims can file for punitive damages against the person at fault. Again, having an experienced attorney on your team can help to properly value these types of damages.
Types of Strong Medical Documentation
Strong medical evidence includes documentation showing that a victim’s injuries were caused by the accident at hand. This is an essential step in proving negligence and showing how severe the injuries were. Documentation may include:
- Emergency room visit records that show there was an immediate and serious injury
- Doctor and specialist reports explaining the severity of the injuries, the prognosis, and any long-term effects that may impact the victim’s ability to work or conduct their usual daily activities.
- Records of doctor’s visits showing that the plaintiff adhered to treatment and follow-up appointments.
- Diagnostic imaging such as CT scans, X-rays, and MRIs, if applicable
- Records of surgeries
If you are concerned about your ability to collect this level of evidence on your own, working with a New York personal injury attorney may be in your best interest. An attorney can gather documentation for you so you can rest assured that you have sufficient evidence to prove your claim.
Why Additional Medical Evidence Matters
Having detailed medical documentation is the first step to receiving a fair jury award, but it isn’t the only requirement. Although basic medical records such as after-visit notes, records of surgeries and doctor’s visits are helpful in proving that the accident did in fact cause injuries, when a case goes to trial, they are not sufficient on their own.
If your case goes to trial, judges and juries demand that plaintiffs support any and all claims they make about the accident and their condition with additional supporting evidence and arguments.
To convince a jury, there must be a significant amount of detail to qualify the severity of injuries. The jury will want to understand:
- How much harm the victim sustained
- What recovery has been like both physically and emotionally
- How injuries have changed the victim’s life
- How much medical or psychological care will be needed in the future.
This is where a New York personal injury attorney comes in. A good attorney will gather all necessary medical records, as well as detailed statements from care providers. They will also arrange for outside medical experts who can answer questions that evidence alone cannot answer.
Without the input of a medical expert, jurors will struggle to envision how much the injuries impacted the victim, as well as the impact they will suffer in the future.
If a pre-existing injury was exacerbated or worsened by recent injuries, medical expertise is even more essential. Insurers and defendants will always try to show that the accident did not affect a pre-existing injury, but strong legal representation and medical expertise can prove otherwise while improving the plaintiff’s credibility.
How Does Medical Documentation Maximize Compensation?
Insurance companies and defense attorneys will always try to argue that injuries are less severe than they are, and that the victim needs less compensation than they are fighting for. Without sufficient documentation outlining each and every injury-related expense the plaintiff is entitled to, the case will be undervalued.
Having access to detailed documentation and expert legal arguments helps jurors understand why higher compensation for non-economic damages like past and future pain and suffering is essential to the victim’s recovery.
Without detailed documentation and expert opinion, future medical expenses related to rehabilitation, long-term care, or additional surgeries, will seem like guesses at best.
Key Steps After a Personal Injury
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, it is essential that you not delay medical treatment and go to the emergency room. Medical records must be gathered starting as soon as possible after the accident to link the physical harm to the accident itself.
Waiting days or weeks to seek medical care will harm your case, as it opens the door for insurance companies or defendants to argue that your injuries were not serious or did not emerge from the accident.
Additionally, make sure to attend all follow-up appointments including physical therapy, follow your doctor’s advice, take medications as directed, and reach out to your healthcare provider if symptoms worsen or new symptoms develop.
In the meantime, it may be in your best interest to contact a personal injury attorney serving New York. Buttafuoco & Associates will fight for your rights and for the compensation you deserve, even in the face of greedy insurance companies who will try to avoid paying you what you are owed.
Get in touch with us today for a free consultation.
Call 1-800-NOW-HURT.