Common Mistakes In Personal Injury Cases

If you’re injured in an accident and have a good injury attorney, your case will almost always go mistake free. That’s not to say you will win every case, every time, but certainly minimizing obvious mistakes can increase your odds of a positive result. Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes that many injury victims, and law firms that aren’t prepared, often make.

Here are some common mistakes that you should be aware of, that are often made by injury victims in accident cases:

Throwing away vital evidence – Let’s say that a household product explodes in your home, causing you an injury. You want to make a products liability claim, alleging the product was defective. The problem is that you’ve thrown away the product, or else, had it repaired. This innocent and understandable reaction has now ruined vital evidence that you will need in your case.

Remember to watch for routine destruction of evidence—in other words, your routine of deleting emails or text messages or pictures can result in you accidentally destroying needed evidence.

Being tough – Certainly, it is good to be brave, and to try to weather this very difficult time in your life as best you can. And juries and judges do recognize “complainers” and those who overemphasize their injuries. But perhaps just as big of a mistake is underestimating your injuries.

Many people will say they’re “fine,” or try to minimize their pain, disability, or the hardships that their injuries are causing them. This toughness is admirable, but it’s not giving the other side or the jury a fair picture of just how injured or disabled that you are. Lawsuits are not the time to underestimate your pain.

Not seeing or obeying your doctors – One of the first things that a jury will want to see is that you have followed your doctor’s orders. If you complain of chronic back problems but you haven’t gotten the therapy, or taken the medicine that your doctor recommended, a jury may be tempted to think that you could have recovered had you wanted to do so.

Settling too early – Insurance companies usually will want to offer to settle your case sooner rather than later. In pain, and out of work, you may be tempted to take the insurance company’s first offer. But those offers are often “lowball” offers that are just trying to make you “go away” and settle for way less than your case may be worth.

Additionally, many injuries take time to develop, and take time to see how or if they will fully heal. It may take time to see what your “impairment rating” may be. Once you settle, you can’t go back and sue again. It’s best to wait to see how your medical treatment and recovery go before settling a case quickly.

Avoid these mistakes – get legal help as soon as possible. Call the Knoxville personal injury attorneys at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette, if you are injured in any type of accident.

Resource:

tncourts.gov/rules/rules-civil-procedure/34a02