After being involved in a personal injury accident, your primary concern should be seeking medical attention. Once you have been evaluated, be sure to take plenty of pictures of your injuries. Photographs constitute a significant part of a personal injury claim. They are considered valuable evidence that can help prove the extent of your injuries, determine who was at fault, and could lead to the compensation you deserve.
Here are some tips when taking personal injury photographs for your claim:
- Take them promptly – Try to take photographs of your injuries as soon as possible. Some injuries may appear healed on the surface soon after they happen, but they could still cause long-term pain and suffering that you could be compensated for; so it is best to photograph each injury as soon as they appear.
- No smiling – Personal injury photographs are considered legal documents and should be taken with professionalism.
- No jewelry – Keep the viewers’ attention on the injuries, not on potentionally distracting accessories.
- Keep the image free of other objects – Your photographs should be clear of clutter and other objects that are not related to your personal injury claim, e.g., household objects, other people, pets, etc.
- A whole body picture – Be sure to take a picture of the whole person. This thoroughly identifies who has the injuries and where the injuries are located in relation to other parts of the body.
- Medical devices – In your pictures, include any casts or braces that you are wearing that your doctor prescribed.
- Surgical sites – Take a picture of any surgical sites that you have pertaining to your accident.
- Close ups – Zoom in on pictures of bruises, burns, scars, and other ailments related to your accident. Pictures should be taken from various angles, as some skin marks can appear washed out when photographed at direct angles.
- Take evolving pictures – Over time, your injuries will change in appearance and it is important to capture those changes for your claim.
Include a processing date on the pictures – When you get the pictures developed, be sure that a processing date is included on the back. This establishes the relative date that the pictures were taken. Also have your pictures backed up on a digital device such as a flash drive or cd.. They are considered valuable evidence that can help prove the extent of your injuries, determine who was at fault, and could lead to the compensation you deserve.