Checklist of Records To Gather After A Car Accident
After a car accident happens, your health and the state of your vehicle are likely to be your immediate concerns. That makes sense and is perfectly understandable, but you should also be concerned about who caused the accident and the expenses caused by the accident. If the accident was not your fault, then you have the right to file an injury claim against the insurance company of the at-fault party. That injury claim should contain the accident details as well as the expenses caused by the accident.
That also means that there are important documents and records that should be included in the injury claim if you want to increase the chances of getting the compensation you deserve. This includes record retrieval for attorneys, which is one of the most important aspects of the pre-claim information-gathering process. The reason is that those records are proof of what happened in the accident and the expenses incurred by the accident. You can gather some records yourself, but for others you will need the help of an experienced personal injury attorney. They will know which records are important for your case and will help you to gather them. You can find out more here if you want to know how a personal injury lawyer can help you after a car accident.
Police Reports
If a police officer responded to the accident scene, then they likely had to write and file a police report, which is also called an incident report or an accident report. The report should have information that is valuable to your case, such as statements from all the people involved, including witnesses, the officer’s opinion of who was responsible for the accident and their determination of whether any traffic laws were broken. In order to get the police report, you or your attorney must provide the agency that responded to the accident with the following information:
● The date and location of the accident
● The names of the drivers involved in the accident
● The name and badge number of the responding officer
Medical Records
Your medical expenses are likely to be some of the main expenses in your personal injury claim, so they will need to be very accurate. That is why you or your lawyer should obtain medical records and other billing information related to your accident. This includes treatment for every single aspect of your health care that was related to the car accident. You should be able to obtain billing records fairly quickly from smaller health care providers, but for hospitals and larger health care facilities, a billing request could take a few days or weeks to be processed. The following are some of the medical records that you may need to obtain:
● Billing for emergency medical services
● Emergency room treatment
● Medical treatment by your primary physician
● Pharmaceutical prescriptions
● Physical therapy
● Other medical specialists
You should make sure to submit all of your medical records after your treatment has stopped or you reach a plateau where more treatment will not improve your condition.
Proof of Income
Lost wages are a possible consequence of a car accident if the injuries prevent you from being able to work. That is why you deserve to be compensated for any income you would have earned if you were not injured in the car accident. You will need to prove how much you would have, or could have earned by presenting documents like previous paycheck records, direct deposit records, tips that you previously earned, and so on.
Vehicle Damages
If your vehicle was damaged in the accident, then it will need to be repaired or replaced. If it needs to be repaired, then you need to get a repair estimate from an auto body shop. You should ask different shops for estimates, but you probably will not get the same estimate from each shop. In that case, you should make an average of all the estimates that you requested. If the vehicle needs to be replaced, then you should consult a reputable resource like Kelley Blue Book to determine the true value of your vehicle.