Personal Injury Lawsuit

After practicing personal injury over the years, I’ve come up with the following 12 tips for those who have been injured in a car accident:

Tip # 1: If you are not really hurt, don’t see a doctor, don’t see a lawyer, and don’t make a claim. Contrary to popular belief, you are not entitled to money just because you were in a car accident. If you fake or exaggerate injuries, you run the risk of being prosecuted for fraud, and you also run the risk of incurring medical bills and other costs that you’ll end up owing out of your own pocket.

Tip # 2: If you are really hurt and in real pain right after the accident, take an ambulance to the E.R. Taking an ambulance and going to the E.R. provide objective evidence that you were seriously hurt and that you sought treatment before having time to consult with a lawyer.

Tip # 3: If you go to the E.R., insist on getting x-rays of your cervical and lumbar spine. It is standard procedure at most E.R.’s to perform these x-rays when someone has been involved in a car accident, but I once handled a case where the E.R. did not perform cervical x-rays. My client continued to have neck pain after being released, and when she had follow-up care that included cervical x-rays, it was discovered that she had a fractured cervical disc! She was unknowingly facing a severe risk of being rendered a quadriplegic during the time she was walking around and going about daily living with an untreated fracture.

Tip # 4: If told to get follow-up care upon being released from the E.R. - do it! Delays in treatment will be used by the insurance company to argue that you were not really hurt, and only later decided to start racking up the medical bills in relation to your claim.

Tip # 6: Especially if you did not take an ambulance to the E.R. right after the accident, see a doctor before seeing a lawyer. Insurance companies and potentially jurors are skeptical of people who go to the lawyer before seeing a doctor.

Tip # 7: When choosing a lawyer, remember that almost all personal injury attorneys give free initial consultations and you don’t have to sign up with the first one you talk to.

Tip # 8: Keep your attorney informed about your medical treatment and understand that your case probably cannot be settled until after you have either finished treatment, or have been declared to be permanent and stationary.

Tip # 9: If your attorney is non-responsive and fails to timely return your calls…simply hire a new lawyer and let your new lawyer fight with the old one over how to apportion the fees.

Tip # 10: If you give a recorded statement or have your deposition taken, just tell the truth - and if you don’t remember something, say so. Keep your answers short, the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something inconsistent.

Tip # 11: Keep track of not just your expenses, but all the activities you miss out on because of your injuries. Missing important family and social events due to your injuries can enhance the value of your claim.

Tip # 12: Once your case is resolved, be sure to get a written explanation from your lawyer as to where all the money is going and exactly which medical bills are being paid out of the settlement. About 30 days after the settlement, contact the medical providers that were supposed to be paid from the settlement and make sure your account has been taken care of.

The above tips are for general situations and may or may not apply to your particular situation, you need to consult with an attorney licensed in your state above the specific facts of your case in order to receive legal advice that you can rely on.