When someone sustains psychological or bodily injuries due to someone’s negligence, they become eligible for filing a personal injury claim. And, if this is something that happened to you, it is logical that you feel upset, disoriented, and confused right after the incident. Because of this, you might have made some mistakes that made it impossible for you to actually file the claim.
Now, if you are thinking about filing a personal injury lawsuit, you might be wondering – did I make some mistakes in the aftermath of the event? Well, this article will be able to answer your questions. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes personal injury clients make:
1. Not Going to The Emergency Room
The very first thing that you should know is that it is crucial for you to seek medical attention immediately after the accident. Even if you are feeling fine at the moment, some injuries take some time to reveal themselves. Hence, in order to ensure your safety and health, seek medical attention as soon as you can.
Another reason why you should go to the ER is that you’ll get the medical documentation that can help you with your claim. If you do not have it, the jury might think that you did not get injured, which means that you might not be eligible for claiming that you actually got injured. To win, you’ll need all your injuries documented and taken care of.
2. Not Choosing The Right Legal Representative
If you want to improve your chances of winning a personal injury claim, it is crucial that you hire the best possible legal representative you can. According to Geoffrey T. Einhorn, a personal injury lawyer will let you know the strategy you should have, the steps you must take, and more importantly, they’ll help you write and submit your claim.
When you do not have the right legal help or if they are not experienced with this particular lawsuit type, it is likely that you won’t actually succeed in winning the case or you might get the compensation that does not come close to what you actually deserve. If this has happened to you, you should consider changing your lawyer.
3. Forgetting to File The Lawsuit on Time
One of the most important things a lawyer can help you with is that they’ll tell you how much time you have to submit your claim. Each state has different laws and regulations, and if you do not submit everything in a timely manner, then the court and jury will refuse to look at your case. What does this mean? Well, this means that you should hire an attorney immediately after the accident occurs. Then you’ll know when you’ll need to submit the evidence you have gathered.
4. Not Submitting Evidence
There are a few things you’ll need for your claim. For starters, you’ll need your medical report, as well as the report made by the law enforcement present at the scene. Additionally, a lot of people forget to take pictures of the accident site and their injuries which is something that is crucial for your case.
Hence, you want to make sure that you have all of the evidence mentioned above, you’ll want to get everything in order with your lawyer, and then you’ll want to submit everything that you have. If not, you might not be eligible for compensation or you might get a lower amount than you normally would.
5. Accepting The Initial Offer
You are probably aware that the insurance company and the defendant will most likely try to offer you an initial offer that is as low as it can get. And, some people think that they cannot get more, which is why they accept the first offer made. However, this is the biggest mistake you can make.
Of course, if you are satisfied with the amount, you can accept it, but, you’ll be losing a lot of money in the process. This means that you should consider allowing your attorney to negotiate everything for you, especially the offer if you or your legal representative feel and think that it is unfair.
6. Posting Key Information About The Accident on Social Media Platforms
Yes, we do live in the technological era and we do use our smartphones every day. Naturally, you’ll want to let your family members and friends know what has happened to you, however, you should never, I repeat, never post about the accident on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Even if you only post that you were involved in a mishap can cause the other side – including the jury – to think that your injuries were not serious because you are able to post things on your profile. So, ensure that you do not post anything until the lawsuit is done, especially since it can negatively impact your claim.
7. Choosing to Represent Themselves
If everyone was capable of representing themselves, lawyers would not exist. Just because you got injured because of someone else does not mean that you’ll definitely win the case on your own. If you never studied law, you’ll not know the regulations, laws, as well as other legal formalities that you’ll need for winning.
So, instead of choosing to represent yourself, ensure that you hire or at least talk to an attorney to see what your options are. If you made some of the previously mentioned mistakes than you must hire an attorney because they can help you with the hindrances you created for your case.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a wide range of mistakes that you might have made in the aftermath of an accident. If you did make some of the mistakes mentioned in the article above, you’ll definitely want to speak to your lawyer in order to determine what your next step and strategy should be.
Now that you know what you might have done wrong, you should not lose any more of your time. Instead, you should start searching for a lawyer that will help you correct the mistakes you made – if possible – as well as one that will help you fight for the compensation you deserve.
