If you are a mesothelioma patient or a family member taking care of a mesothelioma patient, an asbestos lawsuit may be in your future. To be successful, an asbestos lawsuit requires a lot of specific information. If you haven’t started, the time to keep careful records is now. Even though it’s difficult with everything that’s on your plate, you will be doing yourself a big favor if you collect and carefully store the information needed for an asbestos lawsuit as well as your tax returns and insurance claims.
Here are the 3 types of records you need to keep for reimbursement purposes:
Time: Debbie Clemmons, a mesothelioma widow and author of the book “In His Grace, Grappling With Mesothelioma: The Randy Brady Story,” says, “One piece of advice I’ll give you right now if you find yourself in a situation similar to mine – it’s one I wish I knew about. Start keeping track of time spent taking care of loved ones. Write down the time spent at pharmacies and keep logs of time on the phone spent with hospitals, clinics, and caregivers. And how much time you spend cleaning up after someone who is sick. There will come a time when someone—a lawyer perhaps—will want to know how much time was spent. Without these logbooks, you won’t remember. To go back and remember all these things will be too difficult and overwhelming. So to keep track of them as you go along will be blessing to you later.”
Also Workers Compensation Insurance may reimburse you for your care-giving time—if you have records of it.
Personal Expenses: “You might want to keep a log of every bottle of 7-Up, ginger ale, antacid you buy. Keep an envelope to keep your receipts in,” advises Debbie Clemmons. Include:
- Meal and lodging expenses
- Travel to and from doctor’s appointments, treatments, or the hospital (including gas, mileage, and parking for a personal car; and taxi, bus, medical transportation, or ambulance)
Medical Expenses The American Cancer Society recommends keeping records of:
- Medical bills from all health care providers – write the date you got the bill on each one
- Claims filed, including the date of service, the doctor, and the date filed
- Reimbursements (payments from insurance companies) received and explanations of benefits (EOBs)
- Dates, names, and outcomes of calls, letters, or emails to insurers and others
- Medical costs that were not reimbursed, those waiting for the insurance company, and other costs related to treatment
- Admissions, clinic visits, lab work, diagnostic tests, procedures, and treatments
- Drugs given and prescriptions filled