A successful outcome for a plaintiff in a personal injury claim often rests on the strength of the evidence the plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer presents. Our Louisville personal injury attorneys believe in a robust, comprehensive array of evidence, including objective evidence, witness accounts, and expert testimony.
Your lawyer may have asked you for certain pieces of information as part of their case-building and may use the case’s discovery phase to gather more. Knowing more about the types of evidence that may be required as proof in a personal injury suit helps you know what to keep so you can help your lawyer build the best possible case.
Evidence required for every personal injury case
The purpose of a personal injury claim is to compensate a victim for their losses. If you didn’t experience injuries, any suit will almost certainly be dismissed. So, the first piece of evidence you’ll need is documentation that you suffered financially and physically:
- Records of lost wages, if you had to miss work due to your injuries
- Medical bills, showing that you required medical care after the incident
- Medical records, showing that you suffered physical injuries
- Estimates from an insurance company, such as a quote from an auto body shop
- Records of other out-of-pocket expenses
To win your case, your attorney must gather evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent and that their negligence led to your injuries and losses. This can take many forms:
Evidence from witnesses
Witness statements fall into a few categories:
Fact witnesses present firsthand knowledge about the injurious incident, how and where you were hurt, what kind of injuries you have, the kind of medical care you received, your expected recovery, and any limitations or disabilities you now have. Fact witnesses also testify about the impact that your injuries and the accident overall had on your life.
Expert witnesses can explain how your medical records prove that your injuries stemmed from the accident or recount their experiences with you after the accident.
Recorded evidence
Photos of a car accident scene, a video of you sliding across a wet floor in a slip-and-fall, and other types of recorded evidence can be shown to a jury or serve as objective evidence to insurance adjusters verifying how the accident happened.
If you have photos of your injuries, they can also help demonstrate the impact of the accident and support your claim for pain and suffering damages. Or, a video of your property damage can preserve how the item looked after the accident (like your car) so you can repair it instead of keeping it in its wrecked state as evidence.
Official evidence and records
If the police responded to the accident, such as in a vehicle collision or assault, then the responding officers created police reports containing the facts of the incident and, usually, a spot for an officer narrative with the officer’s estimate of how the incident occurred and who is likely responsible.
While police reports cannot be used as evidence in court, they can be used to substantiate witness testimony and other evidence in mediation or negotiations.
Physical evidence
Physical evidence can include your damaged property or the malfunctioning or defective consumer product, food, or beverage that harmed you or made you ill. Or, it could include receipts from your purchase of the defective product. Torn or bloodied clothing, broken pieces of a structure that wasn’t properly maintained, and anything else that played a role in the accident should all be preserved.
Need help with a personal injury claim? We’re here for you
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, pursuing a personal injury claim can be overwhelming. You deserve compassionate guidance and strong legal representation to help you get the compensation you need to recover and move forward.
Contact the personal injury law firm of Grossman Green PLLC at (502) 657-7100 for a free consultation. Let our experienced attorneys review your case and support you every step of the way.