What documents are required to be included in a small claims court action for personal injury damages?

What documents should be attached to a small claims lawsuit for personal injury? Any document supporting the claim’s allegations, including:

1. Consistent medical records related to the alleged injury;
2. Documents supporting psychological harm (wherever emotional distress and/or pain and suffering are claimed);
3. Documents supporting past or future loss of earnings (such as a payslip showing the claimant’s absence from work and the amounts of money lost).

Color photographs showing the injury as close as possible to the time of the incident may be presented at the hearing. (For the sake of clarity, the existence of the photographs and their non-inclusion due to the claimant’s desire to maintain privacy may be stated in the writ of summons).

Note: According to Regulation 93(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules, 5779-2018, in a “regular” civil lawsuit, the claimant is required to attach a medical opinion supporting their claim to the writ of summons.

However, Section 62 of the Courts Law, 5744-1984, stipulates that the Small Claims Court is not bound by procedural rules and rules of evidence. Accordingly, it has been repeatedly held in case law that a claimant in a Small Claims Court – unlike a “regular” civil claimant – is not required to attach a medical opinion to their writ of summons (but they may certainly do so, and it is even advisable).