Common Mistakes In Personal Injury Cases

Any of the following actions may, and most likely will, result in either a low or no settlement in you personal injury case. Please avoid doing any of these things. It will benefit you and your loved ones if you listen to the advice of your doctor and personal injury attorney.

Being in a car accident or being involved in any situation where you are hurt is a traumatic experience. It is human nature to say all types of incriminating things in such a situation, but it is important that you not make any statements to anyone immediately after such an incident that will later be used against you.

Often times, you might not even remember the statements you made at the scene of an accident where you were significantly hurt. If you are in an accident, you may or may not have any personal fault in the situation—don’t make admissions or incriminating statements that place you partially or fully at fault without discussing the matter with legal counsel first.

It is common for us to encounter people who have made admissions or incriminating statements after an accident where they believe they caused an accident, where, in fact, by law the other driver is entirely at fault.

As an example, I recently had a friend who was involved in an accident where he was on a motorcycle and was hit by another driver when he was making a turn from a stop into traffic. After discussing the matter with him, it appears that the other driver came over the hill at a high rate of speed and covered some distance prior to the motorcycle making the turn and entering the lane. While he could not see the driver when he turned, he made numerous admissions to the officer investigating the accident that he thought he was at fault and ended up getting the ticket for failure to yield, significantly hurting his case. Be very careful in what you say after an accident.

Statements that you think are harmless can be legally very significant for you later, particularly with admissions of who is at fault in a traffic matter which is often quite subjective.

Similar to not making incriminating statements at the scene of an accident, it is important to not make them later either prior to speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters will attempt to record your statements after an accident, with or without an attorney, and will be attempting to minimize your claim with their questioning. You can do significant harm to the value of your case if you do not make such statements with qualified counsel.

This is one of the most common mistakes we see people make who have been hurt in personal injury cases. If you immediately seek medical help, it may be that you are deemed to be not significantly hurt, and you will decide not to file a claim for personal injuries and just seek out compensation for property damages, such as recovery of the value of your car if you are in a car accident.

However, if you do not seek medical help right after your incident occurs and you later determine that you are significantly hurt physically, where you do have grounds for a legitimate personal injury claim, it will significantly lower your credibility to the insurance adjuster who will often assume that you only sought medical help after speaking with an attorney, and that your case might not be legitimate.

Insurance adjusters will often seek to minimize your situation in such cases and attempt to “ low ball” the value of your case.

You will not get all of the monies that you are entitled to if you do not properly document all of your medical bills and follow the doctor’s advice regarding his or her treatment plan on what you need to do to get completely well.

It is also vital that you follow up and not attempt to settle your case until a doctor has signed off on you having reached your maximum medical recovery. If you settle your case too early, you can not go back and attempt to get further compensation for future injuries.

Any previous injuries, medical conditions, or health concerns must be brought to your lawyer’s attention at the beginning of the case. If pre-existing conditions later come out as a “surprise” to your attorney and the insurance adjuster, it will hurt your credibility in negotiations and will likely result in the insurance company contesting your case where they might not have otherwise done so.

Choose the "limited tort" option on your insurance policy.

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