- Medical Expenses: Before you file a personal injury lawsuit, you will need to get medical attention to diagnose and treat your injuries. When you file your suit, include all expenses related to your medical treatment including hospital bills, invoices from doctor visits, receipts for medication, and any other expense that you incurred during treatment.
- Rehabilitation therapy: If your injury requires ongoing therapy and rehabilitation, you need to include the costs in your lawsuit. Keep track of visits to rehabilitation clinics, chiropractors, and other medical professionals who provide the physical therapy you need after an accident. If your rehabilitation therapy is ongoing and required after your personal injury lawsuit, make sure you project the future costs of all the rehabilitation treatment you will need to your attorney.
- Lost wages: If you are unable to work because of your injury, include the wages you lost while recovering.
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering damages in a personal injury lawsuit place a monetary value on the effect your injury has on your quality of life.
- Punitive damages: Punitive damages[1] are rarely awarded, and only appropriate when the party who caused your injury was either acting intentionally or was extremely negligent. As the name suggests, punitive damages are included only if the opposing party needs to be punished for its behavior that caused your injury.
- Costs of a personal injury lawsuit: As part of your damages calculation, you are allowed to include all costs that you have incurred as a result of filing the lawsuit. Common costs include the fees associated with filing a claim, the fee that you pay your attorney, and the money spent on expert witnesses or gathering important pieces of evidence.
- Medical documents - including bills from the hospital and invoices from individual doctors or medical specialists, and all written communications regarding your diagnosis and required treatment.
- Physical therapy bills - all invoices from chiropractors or therapists, including money that you spend on workout equipment that you need to buy to maintain your physical recovery.
- Documentation from work - often in the form of a letter from your boss or your company's HR department. Make sure your employer details your work attendance after the accident and notes any special accommodations that had to be made.
- Photos or videos - pictures can be important in proving what caused your injury, and can be used to show its effects. If you have documented lasting bruising or scars, it may be valuable as you pursue your injury claim.
- Car accident injuries including pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability cases such as those involving dangerous structures
- Slip and fall claims
- Medical malpractice and other malpractice-related claims
- Consumer injuries resulting from defective prod