You’ve suffered personal injuries and have hired a qualified personal injury lawyer. Is your job done? No. It’s just beginning. Here are some rules to help you protect your own interests as we work together to pursue your claim for personal injury compensation.
One. Tell the truth. This should need no elaboration. Whether you are talking to us, making a report, filling out a form, or testifying in deposition or at trial, the truth is required.
Two. Don’t talk about your case with anyone. Yes, do tell your doctors and other health care providers about where it hurts, but don’t talk about whose car hit whose, or who was at fault. It’s not germane to your care and perhaps the doctor is not going to take accurate notes about it. Although we should be able to keep these kinds of statements out of court, the other side will see them, and if they conflict with your assertions in the case, watch out! It could undercut a potential settlement.
Generally, anything you say to someone else about your case can be repeated back to you on the record, in court. Perhaps they don’t get it quite right. So please let us do the talking.
If someone says they need to talk about the accident, tell them you are represented by Ingerman & Horwitz. Give them our phone number, and don’t say anything until you call us! Your own insurance company may need you to make a statement in order to process your claim. Or they may need you to talk about the damage to your car. That’s fair. Just call us first.
Three. Get receipts whenever you spend money related to your case. Record what you’ve spent in a little notebook that always goes with you. Are you taking a taxi because your injury prevents you from driving? Is the kid up the street mowing your lawn? Are you hiring a babysitter to stay with the kids while you go to the doctor? Always get a receipt. If the person you are hiring does not have his own receipts, hand him one of yours to sign when you pay him for his services. You can buy a book of receipts in any office supply store.
By the way, keep track of your mileage when you drive anywhere that’s related to the medical care you need or other treatment. Again, use your little notebook to record the date, place and reason for the trip. Deduct mileage for side trips.
Four. Let us look over any claim forms you fill out that relate to your medical condition or disability. These, too are statements of yours that the defendant can review. If you are saying things about your condition in a disability claim or in some other forum that are inconsistent with what is going on in your case, it could hurt you.
We want your claim to be a success. You can find some more pointers here:
How to Present Your Case
Car wrecked? Personal Injuries? Remember 3 Things
