Should I Document All of My Expenses After A Car Accident?
I Attorney Eric T. Kirk discussed in another guide a concept familiar to all experienced Baltimore personal injury and accident lawyers that try their cases- the pain diary.
[i.e. a day-to-day chronology of the ways that a car or automobile accident effects the life of the injury victim]. Some of us are natural organizers and record keepers-others are not.
I advise my clients to thoroughly document all losses and expenditures connected to their case.
Some are obvious. e.g. medical bills, car repairs to name a few. Others might not be, but should still be carefully documented:
- mileage to doctors
- time off from work and wage at the time of loss
- time off from work to attend therapy
- tolls
- additional babysitting
- parking
- co-pays
- prescription and over-the-counter medicine costs
- medical and assistive devices
- car rental, and gas put in that car
- Uber
- lawn care or housekeeping services
- in-home nursing or attendance
- paying relatives to help around the house or for rides
- additional daycare
These areas of expense should be carefully recorded, documented, and filed away for future use. The law recognizes the recover of both directed, and “consequential” damages that are reasonably foreseeable. Each of these may be made part of your personal injury claim as an element of your damages. Some of these claims are easily documented, others require a little bit of creativity and effort.
