Why Are Medical Records Important in a Personal Injury Case?

If you file a personal injury lawsuit, your medical records will likely play a crucial role in determining the amount of financial compensation that you receive. These records include medical test results and objective opinions from trained professionals, all of which help demonstrate the severity and true cost of your injuries.

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence and have questions about the role that your medical records will play in your injury claim, call the experienced personal injury lawyers in North Carolina at Riddle & Brantley at 1-800-525-7111.

Why Time Is of the Essence

All personal injury victims should seek medical attention as soon as possible following their accident. We advise this for a number of reasons:

• This is what is best for your health and recovery. If you are injured, the sooner you are under the care of a medical professional, the better your prospects should be for recovery.
• Even if you do not feel any pain anywhere in the immediate aftermath of the accident, you may still have been injured. It is possible that your adrenaline is still soaring and is therefore masking the pain you may feel several hours later. Additionally, the pain caused by some injuries — such as whiplash — may not surface for several days despite the fact that the injury was caused by the accident.
• It helps you maximize your financial recovery for your injuries because it eliminates any gaps of time between your accident and when you first sought medical attention. This helps negate one of the most common defenses insurance companies utilize in these cases, which is to argue that because you did not first seek medical attention until days or weeks later, there is no way to know for sure that your injuries were sustained in the accident at issue. In other words, seeking medical attention immediately can help prove that this accident is what caused your well-documented injuries.

Items Typically Included in Your Medical Records

Some of the medical records that may be considered most relevant in your case include the following:

• Medical costs
• Records from your hospital stays
• Intake forms
• Prescription medication forms
• Doctor’s notes
• Receipts

Medical Records Can Help Determine How Much Your Case Is Worth

Your medical records can give both parties a ballpark idea of what your case may be worth, as it will be clear what your medical costs are — and these are typically one major component of a damages award in a personal injury lawsuit. They can also help you prove that your injuries were not pre-existing conditions. For example, if there was no medical documentation that you had a neck injury until you sought medical attention immediately after your car accident, it will be harder for the defendant to argue that your neck injury was a pre-existing condition. The doctor’s professional opinion as to the cause, nature, severity, and prognosis of your injury will also carry a significant amount of weight when it comes to the amount of financial compensation you ultimately receive.

Additionally, the more documentation you have in your medical records, the easier it is for your North Carolina personal injury lawyer to prove non-economic damages such as pain and suffering or loss of consortium. You can learn more about the value of medical records in personal injury cases in a cost-free and no-obligation case review with our attorneys at Riddle & Brantley by calling 1-800-525-7111.

Fighting Diligently for Our Clients

One client of ours worked as a welder for a construction company and severely injured his head when he fell from a platform at work, suffering a fractured skull and a brain injury. This was one of the most time-consuming cases our North Carolina personal injury lawyers have ever handled, involving complex medical records. We worked diligently for several years to resolve the case, ultimately securing a $2.475 million settlement on behalf of our client (see disclaimer below).

Get a Free Consultation Today

If you were seriously hurt in an accident and have questions about how your medical records can help you get the compensation you deserve, call us today at 1-800-525-7111 for a free consultation. An experienced and caring personal injury attorney at our firm will answer your questions and help outline your legal options. At Riddle & Brantley, we believe that Justice Counts and will not charge you any attorney’s fees unless we win your case and you receive compensation.

“Thank you for going above and beyond.”

—Ed, Dahyanna, Eliam, and David, Riddle & Brantley clients

*Disclaimer: The results mentioned are intended to illustrate the type of cases handled by the firm. These results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and they should not be construed to constitute a promise or guarantee of a particular result in any particular case. Every case is different, and the outcome of any case depends upon a variety of factors unique to that case.