So you’ve been in a car accident, slipped and fell at the mall, tripped over a broken sidewalk or had another unpleasant thing happen to you? Here is a list of things you may not have considered before that are extremely important to your case:
Contact an Attorney Immediately
You may be an excellent teacher, construction worker, homemaker, hair stylist or accountant, but you’re not an attorney. You wouldn’t perform an appendectomy on yourself, so why would you take on an insurance company alone? Personal injury attorneys are trained in the art of negotiation. It’s what we do all day, every day. By attempting to handle your personal injury claim yourself, you may be doing more harm than good. Unfortunately, by the time you realize that you do, in fact, need help, it may be too late. There is a small window of time following an incident in which your attorney can preserve evidence, file a claim, identify the responsible party, etc.
Follow Your Doctor’s Advice
If your doctor recommends that you receive treatment 5 days a week, you need to receive treatment 5 days a week. We’re all busy and have a million other things we’d rather do than visit the doctor, but it’s imperative that you treat regularly and according to your doctor’s orders. There are two reasons regular treatment is so important. First, you will start to feel better that much sooner. Your doctor has created a treatment plan just for you. He or she knows the best way to get you back on your feet and back to living your life. Second, the quality and quantity of your treatments directly impacts the settlement offers you will receive. If the insurance company finds out that you missed appointments or failed to treat as often as your doctor recommended, they will automatically assume that your injuries are not as serious as you claim and offer a small settlement, or even refuse your claim altogether. Your attorney’s negotiating power is drastically diminished when your treatments are sporadic.
Be Completely Honest
We all have skeletons in our closet that we’d prefer didn’t come to light. Keeping secrets from your attorney, however, can cause irreparable damage to your personal injury case. If you were uninsured at the time of the accident, tell your attorney. If you were wearing sky-high stilettos when you fell, tell your attorney. If you have a criminal record, tell your attorney. He will not judge you. He will not scold you. He will tailor the case so that your interests are protected and your life normalized.
Have Realistic Expectations
Your attorney is going to do everything in their power to get your medical expenses paid and put some money in your pocket. His goal is not, however, to pay for your European vacation or buy you a new house. A settlement is not going to put you in a position where you never have to work again; it is going to make it so that you can work again.
