Considering that 39.5 million personal injury cases annually in the U.S. require medical treatment, the odds are that you know someone who has been through the process. There’s also a chance you’ve suffered an injury warranting a personal injury claim.
Whether you’ve been injured or know someone who has been, personal injuries can wreak havoc. They can throw a wrench into your plans and leave you on the sidelines to recuperate. You may have to take an extended absence from work, get surgery, attend physiotherapy, take an assortment of pain management medication, and more to slowly get back to normal or to a new normal.
One thing that can make things easier is hiring a reputable personal injury lawyer with experience helping clients obtain the compensation they’re entitled to. Depending on your situation, you may be entitled to funds for lost salary, medical treatment, pain and suffering, future medical needs, and more. A good lawyer specializing in personal injury law will give you the best odds of a successful outcome that helps you move forward. The insurers are relentless and will fight tooth and nail to pay out as little as possible, so you need a legal professional in your corner for good results.
After retaining the services of a skilled personal injury lawyer, however, you must avoid getting in your own way. Making certain errors can make your lawyer’s job harder than it should be. So, if you want to avoid causing that type of trouble, avoid these three common mistakes.
1. Failing to Seek Immediate Medical Attention
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is waiting too long to seek medical attention. Some people don’t like going to the doctor or believe they can work through whatever discomfort they’re experiencing. But that’s the worst thing you can do if injured after an incident. You need to see a doctor for a full assessment — so that specific injuries and the extent of those injuries are known and documented.
If you put off seeing a doctor for too long, the insurance company can rightly question why you didn’t see a doctor right after the incident. It may question whether your injuries stemmed from the accident in question or from some other incident.
Thorough medical records are vital when pursuing a claim. And getting started on that front sooner rather than later is a good idea. You’ll make things monumentally harder for your lawyer if you delay seeing a doctor — giving the other side reason to doubt how serious the injuries are.
2. Failing to Adhere to Medical Advice
Another mistake you should avoid is ignoring medical advice. It’ll be hard for your personal injury lawyer to build a strong case if your medical records show that you didn’t prioritize seeking medical assistance.
If you skip appointments, decide to stop treatments prematurely, or throw caution to the wind by ignoring your doctor’s advice, you might have an uphill battle when going toe-to-toe with the insurer. It may argue that failing to take advantage of medical assistance could be the reason for your injury not improving or even worsening.
You don’t want an insurer to suggest you might be exaggerating your injuries. It’s in your best interests to follow the treatment plan devised by your doctor, maintain accurate records of your medical appointments, and let your healthcare provider know if any therapy or medications are causing issues.
3. Admitting Fault or Apologizing
Yet another mistake you must avoid is acknowledging fault or saying sorry. It might be natural to want to apologize after an accident you might think you caused, but admitting fault might back your lawyer in a corner.
Saying anything that sounds like you’re admitting fault can jeopardize your case and give the opposing attorney and insurer possible grounds to get your claim denied or your settlement amount reduced.
Allow whoever is deciding the claim to determine who is at fault — and let your lawyer do the talking.
Avoid these three mistakes like the plague if you don’t want to jeopardize the odds of success. A good personal injury lawyer is worth the investment, but you could make their job harder by waiting too long to see a doctor, failing to heed your medical provider’s advice, and blabbing too much in an attempt to admit fault.
Hire the right lawyer, trust the process, and avoid common missteps that could jeopardize your case.
