How Mitigation of Damages Works in Personal Injury Law

If you’ve recently been injured in an accident, you’ve probably heard the term “mitigation of damages.” At its core, this is just a fancy legal way of saying you have a responsibility to take care of yourself. The law doesn’t expect you to be a superhero, but it does expect you to act like a reasonable person who wants to get better. 

Think of it as a partnership between your recovery and your legal claim. You can’t control the fact that someone else’s negligence caused you harm, but you can control what happens next. To mitigate damages, you need to show that you did everything in your power to minimize the damage.

How Does Mitigation of Damages Work in Personal Injury Law?

When a personal injury case goes to court, the “reasonableness” of your actions is put under a microscope. It’s not just about what you lost; it’s about what you could have saved.

Seeking Prompt Medical Attention

The very first step in mitigating your damages is getting to a doctor immediately after the incident. Even if you think you just have a “stiff neck,” that stiffness could be a sign of a much deeper issue. 

From a legal standpoint, a long gap between the accident and your first medical visit is a massive red flag. It suggests to a jury that you weren’t actually hurt that badly.

Following Your Doctor’s Orders

It’s one thing to see a doctor; it’s another thing entirely to actually listen to them. If your physician tells you to stay off your feet for two weeks, and you decide to go for a jog, you are failing to mitigate your damages. 

Insurance adjusters love to dig through your medical records looking for “non-compliance” notes. If they find proof that you skipped your medication or missed several follow-up appointments, they will use that evidence to slash your compensation.

Accepting Standard Medical Treatments

You aren’t required to sign up for experimental surgeries or treatments that have a 50/50 chance of making things worse. However, you are expected to accept “standard of care” treatments. 

This includes things like physical therapy, diagnostic imaging (like MRIs), and routine procedures that have high success rates. 

Avoiding Re-Injury Through Strenuous Activity

This is where many people accidentally ruin their own cases. In the age of social media, it is very easy for a defense investigator to find a photo of you at a backyard BBQ lifting a heavy cooler while you’re claiming a debilitating back injury. 

Even if you were “pushing through the pain” to be with family, the legal optics are terrible. Part of mitigation is recognizing your new physical limits and staying within them until you are medically cleared to return to your normal life.

Searching for Alternative Employment

If your injury is so severe that you can no longer perform your old job, the law expects you to try to find other work. This is called “vocational mitigation.” You can’t simply stay home and collect a check for lost wages if you are physically capable of doing a desk job. 

While this feels unfair to many victims, showing that you tried to find “light-duty” work proves to the court that you are acting in good faith.

Documenting Your Entire Recovery Journey

In a courtroom, if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen. You need to keep a meticulous paper trail of everything you do to get better. This means saving every pharmacy receipt, every parking stub for the hospital, and every “work excuse” note from your doctor. 

By presenting an organized folder of your efforts, you make it nearly impossible for the other side to claim you were lazy or negligent about your recovery.

Final Words

It is important to remember that the “burden of proof” for mitigation actually falls on the defendant. They are the ones who have to prove to the court that you failed to act reasonably. However, you shouldn’t wait for them to make that move. By being proactive and staying on top of your treatment from day one, you build a defensive wall around your claim that is very difficult for them to tear down. 

Summary Box

• You must take “reasonable steps” to keep your financial and physical losses as low as possible.
• You don’t have to be perfect, just sensible.
• Insurance companies use “gaps in treatment” to devalue your entire case.
• You are expected to seek alternative income if you can no longer do your previous job.
• The other side has to prove you didn’t mitigate, but your records should prove you did.