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In our last blog I discussed how to read your MRI results to know if you have a viable personal injury. In today’s blog I will discuss why having MRI results and medical records are so important for your personal injury claim, as well as the consequences of not having those records.
4 Elements of a Personal Injury Claim
In every personal injury claim there are four basic elements a person needs to prove in order to show another party is at fault. To prove someone acted negligently, you have to demonstrate that the person had a duty, breached the duty, caused your injuries from that breach, and you had actual damages as a result.
The first two elements, duty and breach of duty are fairly easy to prove. For duty, you have to demonstrate that the defendant owed you a legal duty such as, operating a motor vehicle with a certain level of due care. Subsequently, you can demonstrate that the defendant breached their legal duty when they did not act as a reasonable prudent person would have in the circumstances. For example, when a person texts and drives, causing an unnecessary rear-end accident.
Causation, on the other hand, is the most difficult element to prove. At this stage, you will have to demonstrate how your injuries were a result of the other party’s negligence. If you go to the hospital immediately following a car accident and your main complaint is neck and back pain, this information will be recorded and shown to the other party’s insurance carrier. This information will demonstrate that there is a correlation between the car accident and your neck and back pain. Consequently, if you do not go to a doctor right away, the other party will most likely try to deny liability for your reported injuries. The defendant’s insurance carrier will argue that the injuries were not a result of their client’s negligence because you did not report your injuries immediately, which means there was no causation. Thus, having adequate medical records will help prove that your injury was a result of the other party’s negligence and stemmed from the accident in question.
Additionally, records of hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, and ongoing physical therapist appointments can illustrate just how bad your damages were as a result of the other party’s negligence. Without these records, the defendant’s insurance carrier will not want to accept liability since there would not be any reported damages. However, if the insurance carrier sees records and bills from multiple doctors and orthopedic centers following the accident, it’s clear that you suffered damages as a result of their client’s negligence.
Medical records don’t lie. If you were injured in an accident, you will have medical records to backup your injuries. These medical records will be the key factor in how much you can recover in your personal injury lawsuit. Therefore, it’s important to follow up with your doctor immediately following an accident so you don’t jeopardize your potential personal injury claim.
Contact Us Today
The Bottaro Law Firm, LLC provides experienced legal representation for individuals who are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. To learn more about your rights after being injured and how to pursue a personal injury claim, contact our experienced legal team at 401-777-7777 or request a free consultation online today.