Are you wondering what personal injury is? To explain it simply, let’s put it this way: if another person or entity’s negligence brings you injury whether physical, mental or emotional, you can make a claim for monetary damages. You can use this monetary compensation to cover your medical costs or as income since it’s possible that you were not able to go to work because of the event. For example, if a product that you used turned out to be defective and it burned your hand, you can sue for personal injury. The manufacturer of the product can pay you monetary damages that you can use to pay your treatment and hospital stay as well as to cover expenses while you’re not able to work.
This simple explanation might give you the wrong impression that filing a personal injury claim is easy. It’s not. There are a hundred and one things that you should oversee in order to get the compensation that you rightfully deserve. For one, the person or entity that you’re going to complain against will build a strong defense to avoid payment of the compensation. Because of this, you need to have strong evidence that they won’t be able to defend against. Also, there are lots of mistakes that you might do that can ruin your case. Here are some of those that you should avoid at all costs.
Mistake # 1 – Hiring the wrong lawyer
The first thing that you must do is to hire a good lawyer, one that specializes in the specific case that you have. For example, if you sustained an injury because of a doctor’s surgical error, you need to find a personal injury attorney and lawyer that specialize in medical malpractice. This way, it would be easier for you to build a strong case against the defendant. A good lawyer will not only help you collect the necessary evidence you need to build a strong case but would also explain to you everything clearly so you know exactly what’s going on.
Mistake # 2 – Giving a taped statement to insurance companies
Insurance companies will right away ask you for taped statement. They would say that it’s a requirement for the payment of compensation. But keep in mind that even a casual comment can instantly ruin your case. Some of the things that you’re going to say in your statement can be used against you so you have to consult first your lawyer before you give any insurance company a taped statement. Your lawyer will tell you what you can say and can’t say and how you say it.
Mistake # 3 – Delaying medical treatment or failure to follow doctor’s orders
Doing these mistakes can be detrimental to your case. Don’t shake off a minor injury and delay treatment. Be sure to follow all your doctor’s orders regarding the treatment.
You should keep all these things in mind to ensure that you will be able to build a good case for your personal injury case.