It takes a lot of time and effort for a brain injury lawyer or attorney to win for you an adequate personal injury settlement. When you are in the midst of filing a claim, you’d want to be prepared. You’d need to work with a legal team that knows exactly what it takes to win.

Let’s take a reality check and give you a heads-up on the kind of path that lies ahead.

What’s in the three-ring binder?

Have you ever wondered why lawyers carry a briefcase wherever they go? It’s where they place all the paperwork they have to accomplish for their clients. Some even have two of those. In the battle for compensation, you’d have to shuffle a thick wad of papers.

The list starts with law enforcement documents, witness statements, and incident reports. Insurance papers are on the list of essentials as well. These and other documents are essential tools for the legal team to make the arguments that could win your case.

The strength of your personal injury claim will depend on the quality of the paperwork, and whether they are filed within the allotted time period.

Keep a journal

Having a competent legal team handling your documents is only half of the story. The case file with dividers inside should start filling up with required documents as soon as you sign up a lawyer to your cause. Aside from a sheaf of papers, what else does it take to win your case?

Well, you can start keeping a journal – a personal record of events. Subjective documentation of your suffering and pain could be useful now and in the future. Let’s face the facts. You may have to deal with secondary complications of the initial injury later on.

The items on the journal could serve as evidence for losses you will incur in the future. As soon as you are able, put on paper a written record of the events of the incident as you remember them. If you are still undergoing treatment, include a detailed description of treatment and therapy outcomes.

The contents of your journal could be helpful during litigation. The documents the lawyer are preparing might need to be supplemented with anecdotes you’ve jotted down.

A calendar of commitments

A calendar of your activities should allow you to keep track of things you need to do. Appointments with doctors and lawyers could crowd your days and weeks. An injury claim can drag on for some time. While still recovering from injury, you might find it too challenging to juggle five things at once.

If you want to settle, you have to commit to deadlines. Your case may not need to go to trial, but if it does, you should have an impeccable record in court. If you don’t make it to appointments, you might not be able to avail the compensation you deserve.

A personal injury claim can be a huge undertaking, especially if there are complicated aspects of the case. Being prepared goes a long way!