It can certainly be a perplexing time after you’ve been injured after slipping and falling or if you have sustained injuries during a car accident. Here are a few common questions concerning the initial steps in a personal injury claim matter, and answers to the same.

I was hurt in an accident. What should I do first?

The first thing that you should do after becoming injured in a car accident or slip and fall is to immediately seek medical attention. Make sure when you seek medical attention with the treatment professionals that you fully disclose all injuries and pain that you have to aid in proper diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

What Records should I keep for use in my case?

You should hire an attorney shortly after you sustain injuries, losses and damages due to the fault of another party. Until you make that call or have that meeting there are a few important things that you should do. After an accident if there are any witnesses at the scene, please obtain their contact information in case they are needed to provide a statement or testify later on about what occurred. You should take photos of the damage to your car and to any body parts that have noticeable outward injuries, such as bruising, cuts, or the like. If you are hurt on defective premises take photographs and a video if possible of the dangerous area. Often after one gets injured on property the landowner will quickly fix the area to make it appear as if it was not defective in the first place. Thus, photos/video of the defect can be helpful.

Also make an inventory of any recent money you have put into your car with supporting receipts to be used in case the car is a total loss.  Also keep track of the facilities where you receive medical treatment, and keep a runny tally sheet of all out of pocket expenses you incur related to the accident or incident with supporting receipts for each entry so you may receive reimbursement. Keep track of lost time from work and have a note from a physician for every day you are required to miss. Also keep accurate records, so that proper reimbursement may be received, if you miss time from work on whether for the missed time you were:  not paid at all; used paid time off; used vacation pay or sick pay.

Just how long do I have to notify a person who I am filing a claim for my personal injury?

This is an area where contacting competent legal counsel immediately is very necessary. Certain types of case have special notification requirements. If you fail to file the proper notice your whole claim can be permanently lost. For instance uninsured or underinsured car accident claims have special notification requirements, as do claims against a governmental agency or entity, or against a bar selling alcohol to intoxicated patrons. There are also special statute of limitations requirements for different types of cases, which mandate that if a lawsuit is not filed within the time period specified the case is permanently lost.

At Tindall Law Firm, LLC we are very experienced in helping those with injuries to receive the just compensation to which they are entitled. Please contact us with any questions on this topic or any other legal issues by calling us at  (203) 755-0018 or visiting us online at http://tindall.webozy.net/  with all your legal needs.