When you have a personal injury case, you should be looking for an attorney who can help you in every way possible. That is a good idea, and yes, some attorneys can help you more than others can. Claim Your Justice has the attorneys you are looking for. There are things that you can do to help your personal injury attorney.
You may not be an attorney, and you may have no legal training or knowledge. That’s OK; nobody expects you to walk into court and conduct your own personal injury trial. But there are some common sense things that you can do to help your personal injury attorney win your case or get the result that you want.
Your personal injury attorney (or any experts they may hire) will do most of the necessary investigation for your case, and collect most of the evidence that you will need to win your case. But there are also things you can do, especially at the time of the accident, that can help.
Taking pictures and videos of the accident scene can be a huge help in winning your case. If possible, and if you physically can, take pictures and videos of everything related to the accident, and the scene surrounding the accident, no matter what kind of accident it is.
For example, if you are in a car accident, do not just take a picture of the cars—take a picture of skid marks on the road, or parts of the car that may have fallen off and are lying on the roadway, and pictures of the inside of your car, as well.
These pictures not only tell the story of what happened to you, but if there is a dispute about what happened, these photos may have clues to help your attorney or an expert win your case.
Collecting evidence includes contact information for potential witnesses if you can gather this information. Giving your attorneys the names and contact information of witnesses who have seen your accident, observed your pain or your disability, and can testify as to what you have gone through can go a long way to winning your personal injury case and maximizing your recovery.
Save Evidence – We know what you are thinking, you are the victim-what evidence do you have? But often, accident victims do have crucial evidence, evidence that is often, accidentally, thrown away or destroyed.
Examples of evidence that an injury victim may accidentally destroy include:
Saving these items, and anything related to your accident or injuries, and giving them to your attorneys can go a long way toward helping your injury attorney win your case.
Additionally, throwing away this kind of evidence can have negative consequences for your case—the court can sanction you, and the last thing you want is to be accused of destroying valuable evidence by the defendant. Sometimes this is referred to as spoilation of evidence.
Get Medical Treatment – Many people do not seek out the medical treatment that they need or follow their prescribed course of treatment. Getting medical treatment does not just help you, it helps your attorney and helps your case.
Why don’t victims get the medical treatment that they may need? Some may feel like they cannot afford medical treatment. Maybe they are “too busy,” or in denial about the severity of injuries. Some may be afraid of taking medicine or undergoing recommended procedures.
Failing to get medical treatment is one of the biggest mistakes a victim can make. Aside from the consequences to your own health, your attorney has no way to tell a jury, a defendant, or the insurance company what you have gone through, and the severity of your injuries, when you have not gone to the doctors you were supposed to or when you are not following your doctors’ recommendations.
During the course of your treatment and depending on the severity and type of your injury, you may visit many different doctors. Even if you do not visit multiple doctors, you may go to immediate care facilities, therapists, or diagnostic centers to take scans or X-rays.
You would be surprised how many victims go to multiple doctors, but they never tell their lawyers. Every time you go for therapy, for a scan, or a test, you should let your injury attorney know, so your attorney knows where to get those records.
During the course of recovering from your injuries, you may have good days and bad days. You may find that you have so many painful events and feelings, both physical and mental, that it may be hard to recall them all later on. This is especially true if you recover or heal a bit more as time goes on—it can be easy to forget or just minimize or overlook effects, feelings, or things that happen in your life, which will really paint a picture to the jury or to the defendant, of just how badly your injuries affected you.
Do not leave these important details about your case to your memory; you can help your injury attorney (and yourself) tell your story later on if you keep a journal or a log of all of your pain, difficulties, frustrations, sadness, and disabilities and give it to your attorneys. We sometimes refer to these as “day in the life” journals.
Yes, many injury victims who choose the wrong personal injury attorney complain that their attorney never calls them or communicates with them. But a good personal injury attorney wants to hear from you and get updates about how you are doing.
You should update your lawyers on your progress periodically. Often, lawyers do not have needed information because the only way they can get that information is from you, the client, and clients may not be diligent in calling every now and then to give their attorney updates on their lives.
Let your lawyers know things like hearing something from a witness, if you are in an especially great amount of pain, or if there is a medical bill collector calling you.
If you have a question, like whether to sell the car that was involved in your accident, whether you should post something on social media, or what your upcoming deposition will be like, you should reach out and speak to your lawyers.
During the course of what is known as discovery, the other side (the defendant) is entitled to ask you to produce documents.
These may be documents that show your injuries, your medical expenses, your lost wages, or any other part of your case or injury. Your lawyer will let you know what the other side wants you to produce, and what you legally need to produce.
Some of the documents your lawyer will already have and will produce for you, but for some, your attorney will need you to produce the necessary records or documents.
There are time limits to produce these documents and you can be a huge help to your attorney by getting documents to him or her as quickly as possible. Remember that some documents you may need to request from others, like bank statements, or medical bills, so as soon as your attorney asks you for a document, it is good to begin working on getting it.
No, you do not need advanced approval from your personal injury attorney before you post anything on social media. But you can help your attorney incredibly, by being mindful of what you post online.
Just a single picture or video can portray the wrong image for you, and the defendant and its insurance company will see those images and what you write with them. If you have any doubt as to whether it is a good idea to post something, ask your attorney.
This sounds obvious, but you should never lie or stretch the truth to your attorney. Your attorney cannot help you overcome the “negative” parts of your case or anticipate defenses the other side may bring up if you are not honest about what those negative things are.
Your attorney cannot win your case if they are surprised at something the other side says, which you knew to be true, but did not say it to your lawyer.
There is likely nothing you will say to your injury attorney that they have not heard of or dealt with in prior cases. Be honest with your attorney about everything, including the facts of the case, your pain, and your medical treatment, so that your attorney knows exactly how to manage your case and what to expect in trial.
Call our Schaumburg personal injury attorney at Claim Your Justice to schedule a free consultation at 847-434-3555 to see how you and your attorney can help each other get the best result possible in your personal injury case.
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We are highly experienced personal injury lawyers. We know how to help accident victims receive the full financial compensation they deserve. Our Winning Team is focused, dedicated, and sensitive to each of our client's needs. We are here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.