Injured in a Car Crash Some Do's and Don'ts When Pursuing Your Personal Injury Claim

Injured in a Car Crash Some Do's and Don'ts When Pursuing Your Personal Injury Claim

If you have been injured in a car crash because of the negligence of another, you should be compensated. There are, however, ways to help your case - or hurt it. Below are some suggestions to help you maximize the value of your injury as well as pitfalls to avoid.

Don't Go it on Your Own. A potential client came into my office to meet with me one day for my standard, free initial consultation. At the end of the meeting, she wasn't ready to hire me as her lawyer. That was fine. Potential personal injury clients often see multiple lawyers before they finally choose one.

But when she asked me for the third time what I thought her case was worth, I realized what was happening. She wanted to try to settle the case herself but needed to know its value.

Don't do this.

First, it's probably too soon for an attorney to know what your case is worth. Second, even if the attorney does know, the insurance adjuster probably won't offer you its value if you don't have an attorney. They know you are not represented and that you probably can't litigate the case yourself. As such, they probably won't offer you the same value for your case had you hired an attorney. If your case has serious issues, they might not offer you anything at all.

Do Lawyer Shop. While you shouldn't try to get an attorney you haven't hired to tell you the value of your case, you also shouldn't be afraid to shop around for lawyers before you hire one.

Don't worry. The egos of most of us personal injury lawyers are too big for us to be too upset if you choose another attorney. We know that we can competently represent you and want your business. But, just like when you buy anything, it's only fair for you to check out your different options.

Factors you should consider include whether the attorney handles a large number of personal injury cases and how long he or she has been litigating them.

But why you choose a specific attorney may be personal as well. In larger firms, you'll probably get very competent representation but you'll probably get significantly less individualized attention. In smaller firms, you will probably be able to more easily speak with your attorney.

Don't have Unrealistic Expectations.You're not going make millions off a car crash when you only have whiplash.

You're also not going to make millions from a car crash even if you were seriously injured if the defendant's liability limits are only $20,000 and your Under Insured Motorist Coverage is the same.

Your expectations about the value of your case should also be affected by other factors. What are the doctors saying about your injuries? Is the person who hit you Mrs. Evelyn Smith, the mother of five and grandmother of 20, who has been a Sunday School teacher at United Methodist for the past 20 years? Or Jack, who just got convicted of armed robbery last year?

If your treating doctors say that injuries you think are related to the crash are not related, guess who the jury believes? If Mrs. Smith hits you, not Jack, guess who they might feel sympathy for?

Do Take Careful Notes of Your Injuries. Document, document, document! On the day of the crash, write down how you were feeling. On the day after the crash, do the same. The week after. The month after.

Write down what you could do that you can't do now. Write down what is more difficult to do now than before the car crash.

Why? Well, these writings are probably not going to be admissible at trial but they'll help you remember things that you're bound to forget by the time your case ever gets to trial - 2, 3, 4, 5 years down the road.

Don't Exaggerate. Or perhaps, a more direct way of putting it is, don't lie. If you have whiplash, you have whiplash. And it's not fun. Your body aches for a month. Maybe 3 or 4 months.

But don't blame the back surgery you need 3 years down the road on a car crash where a guy rear-ended you only going about 5 mph and the MRI doesn't show anything.

Not just because in all likelihood the doctors aren't going to back you up (and when it comes to this kind of stuff, only what the doctors say matter to a jury). But because if it appears to a jury that you are exaggerating about some things, then they're not going to believe you about your other injuries as well.

That is, they might not believe you even have whiplash, thinking you're just a complainer, or worse, lying.

Do Follow-Up with your Doctor. If you want to be compensated, you have to go to the doctor. It's the only way that juries can get believable information about your injuries. If you don't, it's going to appear as if you weren't really injured. Or if you were injured, very minimally.

If you don't have health insurance or don't have the money to go to the doctor, talk to your lawyer about medical payment coverage through your own insurance carrier or getting on Public Aid.

Both pay your medical bills upfront while you are waiting to be compensated by the negligent driver's insurance company. Then, you don't have to worry about your medical bills being turned over to a collection company while you're waiting for your case to settle.

In addition, in Illinois Public Aid pays off the bills for dimes on the dollar and your own insurance carrier is only entitled to a percentage of what they paid out on your behalf when the case finally settles.