Legal Technicalities That Could Mess Up Your Injury Claim
Personal injury claims tend to be pretty straightforward. However, several things can go wrong. In fact, this is one of the reasons why it is highly recommended to contact a personal injury attorney in Washington, DC before you start the process.
You have to be aware of what you should not say or do as you try to get compensation for the injuries and damages you suffered. Some don’ts are pretty obvious but this is not the case with everything. Discuss everything with your attorney and be especially careful with the following.
Honesty-Related Problems
Whenever you speak to your lawyer, you need to be completely honest. This includes disclosing bad things that you think might negatively impact your case. Even if you are correct, if the attorney is not aware of these problems, it will be impossible to prepare a counter.
An extra thing that you have to understand is that the only person you should discuss your case with is actually the personal injury attorney. This includes confidants you are used to, like trusted friends and family members. Some things you say may end up being used against you and distorted. For instance, a friend of yours might mention something about the case on social media and the insurance adjuster will use that data against you in one way or another, if beneficial for their case.
Documentation-Related Problems
Never sign anything when you discuss details with insurance companies without having the attorney near you to verify the documents. There might be some fine prints included that will be very problematic in the future.
The same thing can be said about all other documents that do not seem related to the accident or the claim. For instance, you might sign a document that would require some physical activity test in order to be renewed. If you sign it, the adjuster will try to downplay how serious your injuries are.
In addition, there are specific deadlines you should never pass. The attorney will take care of those for you.
Medical Proof Problems
You have to keep all appointments you have with healthcare professionals. Missing just one might be used against you. Insurance adjusters look at all your medical evidence and can easily find problems.
Evidence coming from medical staff, doctors, and everyone else involved needs to be given to your attorney to build a much better case for you. This automatically means you need to get them in the first place. No matter how irrelevant a medical document seems to you, save it and give it to your attorney. They will be the final decision when it comes to using that evidence or not.
Final Thoughts
As you surely figured out, most problems related to your personal injury claim will come from the fact that you do not communicate properly with your attorney. This is why it is so important to find a very good one that will be able to guide you through the entire process. The best attorneys out there will tell you what to do and what to avoid doing in order to obtain the highest possible compensation.
