The Two Most Important Hurdles of a Personal Injury Claim – Part 2
At this point following your motor vehicle accident…
You should have either attended the General District Court hearing and the Court has ruled that the defendant driver is at fault for the motor vehicle accident (MVA)
AND/OR
the defendant driver’s auto liability insurance carrier has acknowledged the fault of their insured and you have established a claim for your property damage and personal injuries.
How do you ensure that the second most important aspect of a personal injury claim—your actual personal injuries—are properly addressed?
For each personal loss you claim, whether a material loss or a physical injury, YOU are responsible for providing the auto liability insurance carrier with proof of that loss or injury.
For example, the Abrams Landau team recently represented a professional photographer injured in a motor vehicle accident. At the time of the accident, the photographer was transporting recently developed and professionally framed photographs which were to be displayed in a local exhibition. Once the photographer began to recover from her significant physical injuries, she was able to address the fact that her artwork had been destroyed in the crash. In order to be reimbursed for the costs to replace/reproduce the artwork, the framing, and the damages to both the photographer’s camera and camera case, receipts for each item being claimed had to be produced. However, even those receipts were not enough as the defendant’s auto liability insurance carrier wanted witness statements confirming that the photographer had actually lost the items claimed.
Sometimes, following a significant motor vehicle accident, due to the damages to the vehicle and to you, you are not fully aware of your actual losses. You may not realize that you left your personal possessions in the damaged vehicle or that those personal possessions were damaged or lost. Documentation of those losses is important.
Witnesses’ statements that your possessions were actually in the vehicle are extremely important.
Who are these witnesses?
- -Your family members
- -The police officer who responded to the scene of the accident
- -The EMTs who assisted you in the ambulance
- -The tow truck driver who towed your destroyed vehicle to a safe location, to name a few
Of course, your first thought should not be to your personal possessions but to your physical and mental wellbeing.
How do you document your physical and/or mental injuries?
- -Save every medical summary, note, and prescription provided to you by your medical provider
- -Keep a calendar of medical appointments, physical therapy appointments, at home exercises and medications prescribed related to the injuries you suffered as a result of the MVA
Let us at Abrams Landau law decide what is important with regard to proving your personal injury claim. Bring us a box of your documents, if necessary. We will keep your originals in safekeeping, while we sort and organize the information you have provided. We will provide the necessary and relevant information to the defendant’s auto liability insurance carrier.
Read part 1 of this blog post here.
If you or someone you care for has been injured as the result of a car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle crash and there are questions about how best to move forward, please email or call us (703 796-9555) at Abrams Landau, Ltd.