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The Progress of a Personal Injury Case
(C) Copyright 2008 - The Law Offices of J.C. Becker, Inc, PS
THE FIRST STEP
Once you have been injured and are receiving/in need of medical treatment, the first step is to consult with a lawyer who can properly advise you on the law, your rights, from whom you can seek compensation and what to expect from the other party's insurance company (hopefully they have one). Most lawyers who handle injury cases will offer you a FREE consultation in which your case is discussed, evaluated, and either accepted or rejected.
If our firm accepts your case we will complete a written fee/employment agreement and request you gather all of your records together (e.g. medical, payroll, accident report, etc.) for us to review. We’ll open a running file, which will be the repository for all your records and materials relevant to this claim. If you don’t have any of the records, please start collecting them now because regardless of who you ultimately hire, they will need them! You can visit your doctor and tell them you keep a home medical file for which you would like copies of all your chart notes, etc.
TALK TO NO ONE
You hire a lawyer to handle your claim. Don’t let insurance adjustors, investigators, or potential defendants pressure you into making statements on the telephone or agreeing to their leading questions (such as, you’re feeling better, right?) because if you do, your case may be significantly damaged and you may be impeached at trial by an adjustor who testifies about these so-called phone conversations you had with him saying how much better you were… If you don’t talk to them, they can’t lie about what you said…
PAYING THE BILLS If your medical bills are being paid for by the automobile insurance company they will be sending you a medical record release (if they have not already) to sign. Many of these releases include language which gives them access to all of your medical records to include counseling, drug treatment, mental health, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. Once they get this information and put it in their computer it is there for anyone with access to see. The Insurance Medical Records Company maintains a huge database with information gathered in this manner for use by insurance companies in defense of your claim. Your ally today could be your enemy tomorrow. I once had an insurance company attorney ask a client in a deposition how many days she missed from work because of an STD. Needless to say she was shocked they knew, in fact they had obtained her records from an unlimited release she had signed before I became involved (when she thought she could handle the case herself and just settle for the bills being paid) and the records included her group health file which had a file note for when she had received treatment for this condition. You DO NOT need to sign these blanket types of releases to receive payment and SHOULD NOT sign a general release for anyone except your lawyer (who is bound by attorney client confidences). If you do, you’ll be sorry…You can get your bills paid by the insurance company for the other side or if they refuse, from your own PIP/UIM carrier by signing a specific release giving them access only to the records from this accident. You can draft a limitation and include a short expiration date on it so they do not keep getting records forever. Insurance companies will try to limit my involvement and compensation by claiming the medical bills are being paid by them and that they do not need my help to recover them. That is because they know lawyers work for a percentage of the total recovery and if the medical bills are 100,000.00 my fee will be significant. This is a matter between them and me, but please do not sign anything which releases your rights or assign your rights because you may then be agreeing to their providing an attorney for you. Remember the insurance company goals are to close your claim, as quickly as possible and for the least amount of money they can. Even your own insurance company is not in the business to make you money… GETTING THE RIGHT TREATMENT The first goal of this case is to get you the proper treatment you need and help you get better. To do that, you need a proper diagnosis and treatment. After receiving any emergency care required, you need to consult with a medical doctor whom you trust and has experience handling cases like your own. Don’t rely on the emergency room physician’s initial assessment as the final word. If your family physician can not get you a referral, give me a call but the bottom line is that you must seek medical advice from the appropriate person and be able to rely upon their opinion. If you get a misdiagnosis of a lumbar strain and settle the case for $1000 you will not be able to go back and void that settlement if it turns out you have a herniated disc which requires $50,000.00 in surgery and months of recovery. That’s why you need to be confident with the diagnosis before we start settlement negotiations. Likewise, some injuries will appear long after the initial assessment. After your swelling and pain gets better, you might find that your knee ligaments are torn or that you have damage to the vertebrae in your neck. Some doctors can not find the source of your pain or disability because they have insufficient training or an inability to have the proper tests done (can you say HMO?). If time is going by and you are not getting better, you need to get a second medical opinion! TIME IS YOUR ALLY
Often we wait for a year or two before filing suit. During that period of time you have an opportunity to clearly see if your condition is fixed and stable. You also have the opportunity to see if any hidden injuries are going to come up. It is not necessary for you to settle your claim to get your car fixed/replaced, even through the insurance company might tell you otherwise. Remember their goal is to close the file (with a settlement and iron clad release of all claims preferably) so they may rush you to take the check, but remember the check has a string the size of a noose attached to it. Generally the law provides you have two or three years to file suit before the statute of limitations run and the court bars your claim from being filed. Once the lawsuit is filed, you may have up to another two or three years before you get to trial so with all of that time, you can afford to wait for your condition to become fixed and stable.
KEEP YOUR LAWYER INFORMED
Whomever you select to represent you, it is very important that you stay in regular contact with them and they have your current address and phone numbers. If your lawyer can’t get in touch with you, important dates or opportunities may pass and if enough time goes by and they can’t find you, they may withdraw from representing you and you’ll be on your own!
ASK QUESTIONS
If you have questions, ask them! Lawyers and doctors are in the professional service business. That means they work for you and provide you with advice and counsel. You may get their opinion whether you ask for it or not, but if you have questions or concerns it is incumbent upon you to make them known and communicate! I had a client who waited until a week before trial to tell me they had been in another accident, think that made a difference in our case? You bet - it almost got it thrown out because they had a legal obligation to disclose that when it happened and not the week before trial. We saved his case but surprises are best reserved for parties and presents...
The above information is provided for informational purposes only and should not take the place of an actual consultation with an attorney admitted to practice law in the area where you live. |
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