A dog bite to an arm or hand can generate several kinds of records: wound descriptions, procedures, photographs, work notes, therapy observations, home-assistance notes, and the injured person’s own account of daily tasks. Those sources answer different questions. A useful function record connects a reported limitation to a specific task, date, setting, and source without diagnosing the reason for the change.

A function record should describe the exact arm or hand task, side, setting, starting position, assistance, device, duration, stopping point, and source instead of replacing those observations with a diagnosis or a general statement that the arm is “better” or “worse.”

Establish the correct baseline

  • Dominant hand and the source for that information
  • Prior injury, surgery, condition, restriction, brace, therapy, or accommodation involving the same arm or hand
  • Usual work, household, caregiving, driving, recreation, and self-care tasks before the event
  • Typical load, repetition, reach, grip, dexterity, duration, and frequency for an important task
  • Unknown or disputed baseline facts flagged for review rather than filled with assumptions

Describe tasks at a reproducible level

  • Reach: direction, height, distance, object, body position, side used, and whether the task was completed
  • Grip or pinch: object, hand, grasp type, weight if actually known, duration, repetitions, and reason recorded for stopping
  • Fine-motor activity: buttoning, typing, writing, opening packaging, fastening, tool use, or another stated task
  • Two-handed activity: lifting, carrying, steering, food preparation, childcare, dressing, bathing, or household work with each hand’s role identified
  • Sensation or movement report attributed to the person or clinician who recorded it instead of converted into a medical conclusion

MedlinePlus animal-bite guidance explains that bites can break, puncture, or tear skin and identifies possible infection and tissue, tendon, joint, and scarring concerns. Those are reasons to seek appropriate medical evaluation, not a basis for assuming that a particular structure was injured. Diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and medical restrictions should come from qualified clinicians and the actual record.

Use repeated observations without forcing them into one scale

  • Date, time, observer, setting, instructions, task, starting condition, result, assistance, device, and any immediate follow-up
  • Self-report, family observation, employer record, clinician examination, therapy measurement, and formal work restriction labeled by source type
  • Different units or testing methods retained rather than mathematically combined when they are not comparable
  • A task attempted under materially different conditions marked as a new observation rather than a direct comparison
  • Improvement, worsening, fluctuation, plateau, or uncertainty stated only to the extent the sequence supports it

Connect clinical records without rewriting them

The related guide to reconciling dog-bite wound descriptions across medical records explains how to map body location, measurements, procedures, instructions, referrals, and follow-up findings. A function record can point to those entries, but it should not change a wound description into a statement about strength, motion, nerve function, infection, scarring, or permanence unless the source itself makes that statement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explains in its medical-record access guidance that people generally may inspect and receive copies of medical and billing records held by covered providers and health plans, subject to limited exceptions. Preserve the request, date range, response, missing records, amendment request, and any statement of disagreement as separate parts of the file.

Track work and daily-life changes with source links

  • Job task, tool, workstation, schedule, production requirement, restriction, offered modification, actual performance, and source
  • Household or self-care task, who performed it before, who performed it after, assistance given, frequency, and duration
  • Driving or transportation task, vehicle controls involved, route context, reported limit, and alternative arrangement
  • Cancelled, shortened, modified, or resumed activity linked to the message, calendar, receipt, work record, or dated note that documents it
  • Out-of-pocket purchase or service kept in the financial ledger rather than treated as proof of medical necessity

Keep observation and opinion in different columns

North Carolina Rule of Evidence 701 addresses opinion testimony by lay witnesses, while Rule 702 addresses testimony by a qualified witness offering scientific, technical, or other knowledge. The admissibility and weight of any statement depend on its purpose and foundation. A personal activity log should preserve firsthand observations; it should not supply a medical diagnosis, causation opinion, impairment rating, or prognosis.

  • Quote the source when wording matters and label a paraphrase as a paraphrase
  • Identify who observed the task and whether the observer was present for the entire attempt
  • Record corrections with date and reason; do not overwrite the earlier entry
  • Protect medical and identifying information and share it only through an appropriate secure process

A North Carolina dog-bite claim involving an arm or hand injury may require clinical findings, photographs, task observations, work records, and other evidence to remain distinct but connected. This article is a documentation framework, not medical advice or a prediction about function, liability, or compensation.