Rideshare services have revolutionized how we travel, putting a quick ride in the palm of our hands. However, with an increasing number of these modern “taxis” on our roads, the chances of getting in an accident with an Uber or Lyft vehicle is greater than ever. If you were injured in a rideshare wreck, turn to our Uber and Lyft accident attorneys to discuss your options. 

We are available to take your calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact us today at 1-800-GO-HARRIS to find out more.  

What Should I Write Down in My Personal Injury Journal? 

Recovering from a serious injury can be a long, painful journey. It’s not unusual for one day to blur into the next, making it difficult to remember the different aches, pains, and other symptoms you experienced along the road to maximum medical improvement. 

This is where your personal injury journal comes in. Using this diary, you can keep track of your pain levels, limitations, and medication side effects, making it easy to recall this information when needed.  

Let’s look at a few items you should always include in your personal injury journal: 

• Pain Levels: Whenever you experience pain, you should write down a description of such sensations and grade the severity on a scale of 1 to 10. These entries can help provide context for your medical records giving others—namely a judge or jury—a window into the ways in which your injuries have affected your everyday life. Your attorney may be able to use your entries in conjunction with psychiatric reports and other evidence to build a case for intangible losses such as pain and suffering. 

• Limitations: Do your injuries inhibit your ability to earn a living, tackle household chores, or enjoy your favorite pastimes? You should write down how your condition has affected your everyday tasks and why. For instance, if your injuries cause you to experience extreme pain when leaning over or reaching for things, you should describe such limitations in detail. These entries could be used to help you build a case for damages such as lost income and loss of enjoyment in life. 

• Medication Side-effects: If you were prescribed medications to treat your condition, you should note down any side effects. It’s possible that the insurer or another opposing party might attribute these symptoms to your own negligence, asserting that your actions aggravated your injuries leading to additional complications. Keeping detailed records of these side-effects and their connection to your medication could help your attorney mitigate or counter such disputes. 

How Can I Strengthen My Claim? 

With your financial future likely riding on the outcome of your personal injury case, you’re probably willing to do everything in your power to achieve a favorable result. When you hire one of our attorneys to oversee your case, he or she can handle the logistics of your case, giving you the time and space to focus on your health.  

However, there are a few steps you can take while your claim is pending that might help strengthen your case, such as: 

• Stick To Your Treatment Plan: Whether your doctor has told you to book time off work to let your injuries heal, or to avoid physical activity until you’ve achieved maximum medical improvement, you should follow their instructions to the letter. Any signs that you deviated from their orders could be leveraged by the insurer to dispute liability and damages. For instance, if you returned to work too soon after the wreck, opposing parties might assert that your actions caused your condition to worsen and, as such, that you are liable for some of your damages. 

• Limit Your Online Activity: After an accident, you might want to jump onto social media to share the grisly details of the wreck. However, while posting online could be therapeutic, your social media activity might hurt your claim. Insurers now routinely monitor claimants’ social media pages to find evidence that could be used to lodge disputes. Whether you posted about the accident, shared pictures of your injuries, or discussed something seemingly unrelated to the collision, anything you post online could become evidence in the hands of a shrewd claims adjuster. As such, you should deactivate your accounts for the duration of proceedings to reduce the risk of facing such challenges. 

• Gather and Preserve Evidence: If you obtained copies of your medical records, invoices for repairs, or took photos of the accident scene, you should compile such proof in a safe place. Your attorney may want to review this evidence during the initial consultation. 

Discuss Your Case with Our El Monte Uber and Lyft Accident Attorneys 

If you or someone close to you was injured in a rideshare wreck, turn to the skilled personal injury lawyers at HPIL. We can assess your situation as part of a free case review, taking time to answer your questions and discuss how we might approach building your claim. Reach out to us today at 1-800-GO-HARRIS or by clicking through to our contact page HERE to get started.