How To Prove A Personal Injury Claim

Section 6. How To Prove A Personal Injury Claim

Remember in Section 3, (What You Must Prove In A Personal Injury Case - Do You Have A Case), we discussed that for you to have a personal injury case, and therefore, a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove (1) that the other person or business had a duty to act in a reasonable manner considering the circumstances, (2) that the other person or business did not act reasonable, (3) that because the other person or business did not act reasonably, you were injured, and (4) that, in fact, you were injured.

The question now is how do you prove these four facts.

As you can see, the first three facts revolve around what happened. To prove what happened, you need copies of police report(s), incident report(s), witness statement(s), photographs, and any other evidence that you believe prove what happened. If you believe that the police report(s) or incident report(s) are incorrect, you will need other evidence such as witness statement(s) to show that the reports are wrong.

As a side note on personal injury law, in car accident cases, the fact that the one driver was given a ticket is not admissible as evidence in a civil personal injury case. It must be proven that the driver acted unreasonably and breached his/her duty without mentioning the traffic ticket. So, do not rely on the fact that the other driver got a ticket as proof that the other driver caused the car accident.

As another side note, if you were injured in a car accident, you need photographs of the scene and the cars. Photos of the scene need to show what you saw so that other people can understand and visualize what happened. Photos of the cars need to show all of the damage so that other people can visualize how the cars collided and understand how you were injured. With slip and fall cases, take photos of any uneven surfaces or any slippery substances if the substance is still there.

The fourth fact the you need to prove to prove your personal injury claim is your injury. This is proved with copies of lost wage statements, medical records, photographs, and any other evidence that you believe will prove your injury. With medical records, be sure to get all of the records including ambulance, emergency room, hospital, nurse's notes, lab reports, doctor reports, and bills. Take photographs of all injuries. It is better to show a bad bruise or black eye than to merely say that you suffered a bad bruise or black eye.

The lost wage statement(s), medical bill(s), and other bills are used to prove the actual out of pocket cost that you suffered.

The above is general information only and may or may not be applicable to your situation. If you have any questions whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.

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