The Small Receipts

The Small Receipts: Documenting Treatment Expenses

Tom dismisses individual receipts because their amounts are small. A more useful review asks what each expense was for, whether it relates to the injury, and whether it has already been counted elsewhere.

Connect the receipt to the treatment

Keep a clear copy showing the date, provider or pharmacy, item or service, and amount. Record the related appointment or prescription when the receipt alone does not explain the purchase. The State Bar's personal-injury guidance recommends preserving bills and receipts. A simple expense list helps identify missing documents, but keep the underlying records rather than only a running total.

A payment record is not the whole proof

The State Bar's recommended personal-injury damages instructions discuss reasonable expenses for necessary medical care caused by the defendant's fault. These are recommended instructions that must fit the case, not a guarantee that a receipt will be reimbursed. Records may still be needed to explain the treatment's relationship to the collision and the charge being claimed.

Reconcile the records before adding them

A pharmacy receipt, provider statement, insurance explanation of benefits, and payment confirmation may describe overlapping charges. Mark those connections instead of counting the same expense repeatedly. Distinguish amounts billed, amounts paid, and balances shown; those labels answer different questions. Preserve corrected statements and ask about unexplained differences. Do not alter an original receipt or guess at an undocumented expense merely to make the total complete.

Questions this episode raises

Is an inexpensive prescription automatically too small to include?

No. Its amount alone does not determine relevance. Document the expense and its connection to treatment, then evaluate it with the rest of the claim.

Does a receipt establish that the insurer must pay it?

No. A receipt helps show a transaction. Recoverability also depends on liability, the connection to the injury, and the applicable damages and coverage rules.