Legally Reviewed By: Robert M. Knowles
Attorney & Partner At Knowles Law Firm
After a collision, proper documentation can make the difference between receiving fair compensation and struggling with uncovered damages. Thorough documentation helps establish the facts of your case, demonstrates the extent of your injuries, and creates a clear connection between the accident and your damages.
The attorneys at Knowles Law Firm have handled thousands of car accident cases throughout their nearly 55 years of serving Omaha residents. Their extensive experience has taught them exactly what documentation makes for successful claims. We sat down with Ben Knowles to learn more about the firm’s recommended approach to documenting accidents and injuries to strengthen your case.
What to Document Immediately After an Accident
Properly documenting the scene and your injuries from the first moments after a collision can significantly impact your case outcome. Here’s what you need to capture.
Scene Documentation
When it comes to documenting the accident scene, Attorney Knowles emphasizes the importance of using technology that’s already in your pocket: “Take out that phone. Document the location of the cars and the people involved. A lot of times, witnesses in a vehicle leave or get picked up by other people before police arrive. Taking photos, capturing contact information from other drivers—anything that captures on your phone can become potential evidence and help your case.”
This advice is particularly relevant now, as Attorney Knowles points out: “Post-COVID, there’s been a lot of cases where police have other priorities, especially if there aren’t injuries or people seriously injured right at the outset. So they’ll just tell parties to exchange information over the phone.”
Vehicle and Driver Information
Don’t just rely on insurance cards. Attorney Knowles cautions: “Take a picture of the license plate of the other vehicle and the driver’s license of the other driver. Capture contact information from all parties.”
He explains why this thorough approach matters: “A lot of times people will just take a picture of the insurance card of the other driver, but they don’t get a picture of their driver’s license or license plate. A lot of times, people will have insurance cards that are expired, or they’ll get insurance, and then what they’ll do after they’ve gotten their registration is cancel their insurance.”
This can create serious problems later: “Then you find out later they did not have active insurance, and you didn’t document their license plate or driver’s license. You don’t really know who the person was that hit you because you don’t have their license plate or driver’s license information.”
Medical Documentation
If you’re injured, seek medical attention promptly. “If you are feeling injured, get in to see somebody as soon as possible, whether that be an emergency room because you feel like there is immediate danger, or urgent care, or your primary care doctor the next day,” Attorney Knowles advises.
He emphasizes that this creates an official record: “Just so that if you are feeling pain, you get that documented. A lot of times, people don’t do anything, and they start to get worse weeks later. Then it becomes more difficult to say this was caused by the accident, as opposed to these are just general aches and pains, or I slept on my neck wrong.”
Common Documentation Mistakes to Avoid
Relying Only on Insurance Information
One of the biggest mistakes is not getting comprehensive identification of the other parties involved. “That would be a big one, if people just take somebody’s word, like, ‘Oh, here’s my insurance card, you can contact them.’ They later found out that they did not have active insurance and didn’t document their license plate or driver’s license. They don’t really know who the person was that hit them.”
Attorney Knowles notes: “Some of those insurance cards might not actually list the driver’s name. So you really need to know their name, their address, and how we can find them to serve them with legal papers if necessary.”
Delaying Medical Treatment
“People just waiting to get treatment is another mistake,” Attorney Knowles states. “They’ll say, ‘I’ll see if I get better,’ or ‘I’ll wait to see how it goes,’ or ‘I can’t afford treatment.'”
He explains why this is problematic: “Ultimately, our job is to put together the evidence for your case, and we have as evidence the medical records and the bills. If those are there, it helps us. If the insurance company sees you were complaining right away about neck pain or back pain, and it was significant enough for you to get treatment, the longer the delay, the more difficult it becomes to connect your injuries to the accident.”
Not Documenting Work Absences
An often overlooked aspect is documenting time missed from work. “Another mistake you can make is not documenting your inability to work after the accident,” Attorney Knowles points out. “Best case scenario, you would get a note from the ER doctor or primary care doctor stating that you were in an accident and are excused from work.”
He adds, “I think a lot of times people miss a few days here or there, but they don’t really document it. It just kind of gets lost in the shuffle of information they’re trying to keep track of.”
What Documentation Is Most Valuable to Insurance Companies?
When asked what documentation insurance companies value most, Attorney Knowles is clear: “Medical documentation, of course, is primary.”
Beyond medical records, he recommends documenting lost wages: “Pay stubs for lost wages—I can set up a form that I give to my clients to take to their employer. A lot of times, people working for small companies don’t have extensive HR departments to help with this paperwork.”
He also emphasizes the importance of work excuses: “Work excuse notes from the doctor or chiropractor are important. Medical bills are very important. We obviously take care of getting those, but the gross charges go on there.”
When to Seek Legal Help With Documentation
Attorney Knowles suggests seeking legal help “at the point at which you get overwhelmed.” He elaborates: “I think it’s when all the information starts to pile up and people just can’t handle all the different requests coming at them. They just say, ‘Okay, I just want to put this behind me, I want it to be over,’ and that’s when they contact us usually.”
He describes how the process can quickly become overwhelming: “A lot of times people are calling us because in the property damage phase, the insurance company’s not being forthright with them. Then they start getting mail from all the medical bills for the emergency room visit. Their health insurance companies are saying, ‘Hey, we think this should be paid by some other entity because there was an accident.’ It just snowballs fast.”
The Value of Keeping a Pain Journal
One final piece of documentation that can significantly impact your case is a personal pain journal. Attorney Knowles explains: “One other thing that I like is when clients keep a journal about their injury. I check in with my clients frequently, but I’m not there every day. I’m not there to see them waking in the morning, unable to pick up their kids, or struggling to carry laundry up the stairs.”
He continues: “I think it’s nice when they write down two or three bullet points every day about how they’re feeling. When I’m putting together their case with all the medical records and bills, and I’m trying to explain to the insurance company why they should pay, I need to be able to provide concrete examples.”
The journal helps prove the intangible aspects of suffering: “Pain and suffering are often the biggest part of the case because medical treatment is so well-documented. But when you can provide that type of context about how the injury affected daily life, they can really understand the pain and suffering.”
Contact Knowles Law Firm
If you’ve been injured in an accident, proper documentation is critical to building a strong case, but it can quickly become overwhelming to manage on your own. The experienced attorneys at Knowles Law Firm can help you gather and organize all necessary documentation while you focus on your recovery. We understand what evidence is most valuable and how to present it effectively to insurance companies.
With nearly 55 years of experience and a record of obtaining multi-million dollar settlements, the attorneys at Knowles Law Firm have the experience to handle your accident case from documentation through resolution. We work diligently to ensure that all aspects of your damages are properly documented and presented to maximize your compensation. For a free consultation about your case, call us at (402) 431-9000 or contact us online.
About Our Attorney
Robert M. Knowles
Attorney & Partner at Knowles Law Firm
Robert has tried cases in both state and federal courts and was selected as one of the top 100 litigation lawyers in Nebraska for 2014 by the American Society of Legal Advocates. Less than 1.5 percent of lawyers nationally are selected for this recognition. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell which is the highest rating an attorney can obtain. He was also selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2019 Top Rated Lawyer.
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