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An injury is more than a diagnosis. Serious accidents can affect sleep, mobility, concentration, mood, family responsibilities, recreation, independence, and the ability to earn a living. Those effects should be documented accurately over time.
Photographs can be useful for visible injuries such as burns, scars, swelling, bruising, surgical incisions, or the use of braces and assistive devices. Photographs should be dated and preserved in their original format when possible.
A simple symptom and activity journal can help a client remember important events. Useful entries may include medical appointments, significant pain episodes, missed work, sleep disruption, limitations on driving or lifting, and activities the person could not perform. The journal should be factual rather than argumentative because it may become discoverable in litigation.
Employment documentation is equally important. Pay stubs, tax records, work schedules, overtime history, offshore rotations, union records, certifications, licenses, and evidence of promotion opportunities may help establish past and future wage loss.
Family members and coworkers can also be important witnesses because they observe changes that may not appear in medical records. The objective is not to create evidence artificially. It is to preserve a reliable record of how the injury actually changed the person's life.
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