Call Us
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Email UsIf you have been injured in an accident, you already know that healing isn’t necessarily a linear process. Instead, sometimes you make slow and steady progress day by day. Other times, you experience setbacks. Healing is often painful. There are a whole host of things you used to be able to do that you can no longer do – or no longer do as long or as well as you once did.
Your New Jersey personal injury lawyer wants you to keep a personal injury journal in real time. This is because your progress is often measured in the day to day increments of healing, including your successes and your failures. It may be months, or even years before your personal injury case goes to trial. Keeping a personal injury journal ensures you won’t forget your daily struggles. If easier, you can record your journal on your cell phone as there are many apps available such as notes on an ipad or iphone, or any smart phone.
Your New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer Explains Personal Injury Journals
If you’ve never heard of a personal injury journal, you are not alone. Most people are lucky enough to never need to know what a personal injury journal is. However, once you have been injured, whether in an automobile accident, a fall on an icy sidewalk, (take out due to medical malpractice), a dog bite, a work injury, or due to a faulty product, your New Jersey personal injury lawyer would prefer you keep a personal injury journal.
Basically, a personal injury journal is a personal diary dedicated to recording the aftermath of your injuries. In it, you document each and every visit to the doctor, the physical therapist, the clinic. You list your prescribed medications, how often you take them, and whether they help with pain and healing. Document pain, using a scale indicating how bad the pain is each day. In the beginning, you may find hourly entries better reflect your situation. A personal injury journal documents your limitations, such as whether you can shower on your own, or dress yourself, or walk without the assistance of crutches. If you miss work, or have restrictions at work, your personal injury journal documents these limitations. Your journal entries ideally document any portion of your life impacted by your injury.
How Your New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer Will Use Your Personal Injury Journal
Sometimes, injured people feel uncomfortable keeping a personal injury journal. Some people report it feels like they are complaining. Others don’t want to spend more time thinking about how their injury has impacted their lives. Further, some struggle to keep up with documentation as a direct result of their injuries.
Keeping a personal injury journal is critical to your case. In our experience, when someone first contacts a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, their injury is fresh in their mind. They recall with detail the emergency room visit, the subsequent hospitalization, and the early road to recovery. However, we also see people, 18 months later, not sure if, in month three of their recovery, they walked with crutches, a cane, or without assistance. A personal injury journal, documenting injury in real time, creates a reliable source of information about forgotten limitations, pain intensity, and lost time with family and friends. Lawyers ask jurors for damage awards based on the losses suffered by the injured person. Having the most detailed information available about these losses day to day is critical to ensuring full financial recovery.
Injured People Need a New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer
Even if you are not sure you have a claim, discuss your situation with a New Jersey personal injury lawyer. Choosing the right law firm can make all the difference. At Rosner Law Offices, P.C., we have attorneys that specialize in personal injury, including medical malpractice, car accidents, faulty products, falls, dog bites, and more, our attorneys have the experience you need. Contact us for a free consultation. We are available to discuss your case day or night. Call us today at (856) 502-1655.