How to Work with Your Personal Injury Attorney to Maximize Your Case Value
Sometimes accidents that lead to injuries can’t be helped. An example of this is failing to notice that your shoe has come untied, tripping over it, and breaking your wrist in the fall. Other accidents, such as car accidents and some workplace accidents, are preventable. When you are seriously hurt in an accident, it’s in your best interest to know how to work with your personal injury attorney to maximize your case value.
Things to Do Before Meeting With Your Personal Injury Lawyer
Since no one anticipates getting seriously hurt in an accident, likely, you won’t have a personal injury attorney standing by. Personal Injury lawyers aren’t like a shirt, you don’t spot one you like on a shelf and bring it home with you. It will take you some time to research attorneys and consult with a few before you settle on the one that’s the best fit for you and your claim.
Happily, there are some things you can do even before you officially list the aid of a good insurance claim lawyer that will simplify your case for them. These things include:
Immediately Seeking Medical Attention
One of the biggest mistakes people make after they’ve been in an accident is failing to seek medical attention. The reason most people don’t go to the hospital is that they didn’t think they were hurt. It isn’t until the adrenaline wears off that they realize they’re hurt and need professional medical help. The delay makes it much harder for your attorney to prove that the injury was the result of the accident.
Collect Evidence
Your lawyer will have a much easier time filing your claim and negotiating with the various insurance companies that are involved with your case when you collect and preserve evidence that pertains to the incident.
This doesn’t mean you have to hang out at the scene of the accident and set up something that looks like a scene from CSI. However, you should get into the habit of neatly storing all the information you have that’s connected to the accident. Some of it will be easy to get, while other things you may have to work at acquiring.
The evidence you should collect and preserve includes:
- Any photos/videos of the incident
- Police reports
- Medical reports
- Medical bills
- Footage from any security cameras that were in the area
- Expert testimony (especially testimony from your doctors)
- Witness statements
Records of expenses you acquired as a direct result of the accident, even if they aren’t medical bills (such as a bill from a house cleaner since you couldn’t maintain your home while you recovered)
Make Things Easier for your Personal Injury Attorney
Once you’ve selected a personal injury attorney to handle your case, you’ll turn over the evidence you collected. Your attorney will handle the task of letting the insurance companies know that they’re representing you and make sure all the proper paperwork is filed on time and at the right place.
Don’t assume that since you have turned over the evidence you collected and signed a contract with the lawyer that there’s nothing further you can do.
There are still a few things you can do to help your attorney maximize the value of your case.
Be Reachable
Your attorney is busy, when they need to ask you a question or alert you to some important fact about your case, they need to reach you quickly. No, that doesn’t mean you need to have your phone in your hand 24/7, but it does mean you need to return calls and respond to messages from the law office. When you’re unresponsive, the case gets slowed down. It’s even possible that your lack of reachability will result in some important deadlines getting missed.
Be Diligent About Your Health
It’s important that you do everything your medical team says. Missing appointments, failing to follow doctor’s orders, or simply not reporting a change in your condition to your lawyer could seriously jeopardize your case.
Cool Off with Your Social Media Posts
Social media is a great way to share your life with your friends and family, but it can also lead to problems with your case. You should assume that the insurance company periodically checks up on your social media accounts. You don’t want them to see anything that contradicts the information you’ve used in your claim.
Personal injury cases aren’t always as simple as they first appear, which is why you deserve to have experienced and reliable legal representation in your corner. The Jones Firm has handled thousands of personal injury cases. They will work hard to make sure you get the compensation you need to enjoy a full and quality life.
