You may not know the right next steps after an accident. Not knowing what to do leads to mistakes. If you make a mistake while filing a personal injury lawsuit, it can lead to the dismissal of your whole case by a court. You should avoid making mistakes when filing a personal injury lawsuit. The best way to avoid common pitfalls that accident victims fall into, hire an experienced personal injury lawyer. To learn about the common mistakes injured plaintiffs make when filing a personal injury claim, continue reading.
Failing to Get Medical Treatment Immediately After the Accident
A person just in an accident needs to receive medical care immediately. Even if you think you have not sustained any injuries from the accident, you need to go to the hospital anyway. See a physician after an accident because the crash may have hurt you and you do not realize it. In addition, get checked out by a medical professional because the more time that passes between the accident and the treatment, the harder it is to connect your injuries to the accident.
Always seek medical care right after the accident because you must prove causation to win a personal injury lawsuit. Every injury lawsuit is a negligence claim. One of the elements of negligence is causation. That means you must prove that the accident caused the harm you suffered. The easiest way to prove that is by getting a medical evaluation right after the accident. Personal injury plaintiffs who refuse treatment after an accident have difficulty proving causation.
Losing Track of Medical Records and Medical Bills
You must keep track of your medical records and bills to increase your chances of a successful personal injury claim. Victims must sufficiently prove every personal injury case to win, and proof comes with evidence. Your medical records and bills are some of the best evidence of your injuries and your treatment costs.
Your injury attorney can help build your case using your medical records and bills. Juries like timelines of injuries and treatment because it makes the extent of your injuries easy to follow. By keeping track of your medical records, you are helping your attorney tell the jury your story and the story of your accident to the insurance company, judge, or jury. Likewise, having your medical bills puts a tangible number on compensation.
A jury may feel more comfortable awarding a judgment if they can relate the money they give you to your injuries.
Not Following the Doctor’s Orders
You must follow the advice of your doctor after an accident. An insurance company is waiting for an accident victim to skip a specialist appointment or refuse medical service so that they can justify not paying a claim. Going to multiple doctors can be a hassle, but completing these tasks is crucial to the success of your injury claim.
Talking to the Insurance Company Without an Attorney
Insurance companies are for-profit businesses, which means they are focused on protecting their bottom line. They may try to get you to agree to an unsatisfactory settlement amount to protect the business’s monetary interests. To conclude the case, you may accept an offer that does not anticipate any future medical care costs or other factors that will increase the value of your settlement.
An experienced accident attorney knows to only settle for the best the insurance company can offer. You do not have to settle for less. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, call a personal injury lawyer in your area today.
Accepting a Settlement Offer Before You Finish Treatment
It is unlikely that you have ever been in this kind of situation before. This is probably your first accident and, therefore, your first lawsuit. Most things in a lawsuit are not intuitive. An accident victim may not know to wait to accept a settlement offer until they complete all medical treatment for their injuries. A personal injury lawyer can help you know when it is best to accept a settlement offer. Never accept a small amount of money for your injuries.
A personal injury attorney may advise you to continue treating your injuries so you know their extent. If you know how much treatment you need, you will know what a good settlement offer looks like.
Declining a Good Settlement Offer
Most personal injury cases do not go to court because the parties can reach a satisfactory settlement before trial. While you should hire an accident attorney who is unafraid to go to trial, taking your case to trial is not always the best decision.
A personal injury lawyer can help you understand if an offer is good and if you stand a chance of receiving a better outcome if you take the case to trial. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you must hire a trusted personal injury lawyer in your area to learn more about how to protect your legal rights.
Posting About Your Injuries and the Lawsuit on Social Media
Social media is a part of most of our daily lives. Many people use social media almost as a diary about their experiences. However, you should never speak about your injuries or the case on social media if you are involved in civil litigation.
The dangers of posting about your injuries or your case on social media are vast. If you share too much on social media, you may lock yourself into a story that does not represent how the accident happened. The insurance company can construe everything you post on your social media as a statement. Insurance companies may even scour the comments to get any indication that you are being untruthful about your injuries. Not posting on social media about your injuries is for the best.
Waiting Too Long to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Do not wait to file a personal injury lawsuit. The longer you wait to pursue a personal injury lawsuit, the harder time that you will have proving your injuries. In some cases, if you wait too long to file a lawsuit, you may lose your right to sue entirely.
The statute of limitations is a deadline imposed by law that requires an accident victim to settle an injury claim or file a lawsuit within a specified period. The statute of limitations varies based on the type of case that you have and what state you are filing your lawsuit. Failing to comply with the applicable statute of limitations can end your case. Dismissal is the consequence of not complying with the statute of limitations.
To ensure that you do not miss the applicable statute of limitations in your case, or violate any other procedural rules, hire a local personal injury attorney. An experienced accident attorney knows the state and local rules, and it is part of their job to ensure that they follow each rule.
If you hire an attorney, you can rely on them to take care of the legal side of your accident claim, and you can focus solely on recovering from your injuries. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, call a personal injury attorney in your area.
Failing to Name All Potential Defendants in the Lawsuit
A huge mistake that plaintiffs make in personal injury lawsuits is that they do not name all potentially liable parties in the complaint. Name every person and company who caused you harm because you may have a lot of damages that the policy limits of just one defendant do not cover.
Examples of potential defendants in a personal injury case include:
- The driver in an accident
- If the driver was an employee, then both the employee and their employer
- Another third party
A personal injury lawyer will investigate your claim once you hire them to represent you. A part of this investigation is to find all the defendants potentially responsible for your claim. You cannot identify all potential defendants in a personal injury case without legal training. Rely on the resources that your personal injury lawyer has available to them. If you were in an accident, call a local personal injury lawyer to protect your rights.
Not Immediately Hiring an Attorney
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you need to hire an attorney immediately. An attorney can help you build a case that will help you get the maximum amount of compensation in an injury claim and go over the stages in a personal injury case.
Ways that an attorney can help you maximize positive results in an injury claim include:
- Negotiating for you. Especially if this is your first time filing a lawsuit, it can be intimidating to speak to opposing parties on your own. A personal injury lawyer can help you by speaking on your behalf to insurance companies and defense attorneys so you receive the maximum compensation available.
- An accident attorney can help you build your case. For example, every personal injury plaintiff must prove that the defendant caused their injuries. One way to prove that the accident caused your injuries is to have a medical expert testify on your behalf. Personal injury lawyers usually have relationships with medical experts that can help prove causation. An unrepresented client cannot get a medical expert to testify at trial. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, call a local personal injury lawyer in your area.
- A personal injury lawyer will help you avoid common pitfalls that unrepresented accident victims fall victim to.
- A personal injury lawyer will represent you at trial. Television may make representing yourself at trial look easy. However, trial advocacy is an art. You need an experienced accident attorney to ensure they present your case in the best light at trial.
- A personal injury lawyer can help you get a better settlement offer. If an accident victim does not have a lawyer representing them, they are likely to get a lower offer than a represented client. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, call a personal injury lawyer in your area immediately.
What If I Cannot Afford an Attorney?
If you cannot afford an attorney, do not worry. Most personal injury lawyers across the country work on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee agreement is a fee payment structure that allows clients to defer payment until a claim settles. During your initial meeting with a personal injury attorney, make sure you speak to the attorney about the terms of the contingency agreement.
The terms of a contingency fee agreement will likely include the amount of money the attorney will receive as payment for their legal work. Typically, the attorney receives one-third of the total settlement amount as their legal fee. For example, if your final settlement is for $300,000, then the attorney will receive $100,000 as their fee, plus litigation costs. Litigation costs are expenses incurred during the lawsuit. The attorney can pay these costs and the client can reimburse them at the end of the case, or the client may choose to pay the costs along the way.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Personal Injury Attorney, Jacob D. Lawrence
You do not have to go it alone after an accident. Get legal representation so you do not fall into the traps of the insurance company or defense attorneys. When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you hire an entire legal team. You get the resources that the attorney’s firm can offer you, and ultimately, you put yourself in the best position possible for maximum recovery after an accident.
Never put off consulting a lawyer and learning about your rights. You do not need to sit worrying about the unknown, as an attorney can advise you on the next steps and help you avoid mistakes. Contact a personal injury lawyer today and begin your process.