When you’re injured in an accident, your first instinct is probably to take care of yourself and your family. The financial ramifications of an accident can be devastating, and you may be eager to get your life and your finances back on track. However, you may also be tempted to make a hasty or dishonest personal injury claim to recoup your financial losses or take revenge on your insurance company or the person who caused the accident. While there are many advantages to filing a personal injury claim, several potential pitfalls are also. If you make a personal injury claim without taking the necessary precautions, you may do more harm than good. You can avoid specific mistakes so that your personal injury claim doesn’t go south on you. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Over exaggerating injuries
If you’ve sustained an injury, the best thing to do is get medical records and a diagnosis from a physician. This will help your personal injury claim by proving to the insurance company or courts that you did sustain an injury and that the damage was severe enough to make you unable to work. Another common pitfall for personal injury claimants is to over-report their injuries. The insurance company may assume that you exaggerate your injuries and will not be as generous with their settlement offer. If you push your doctor to diagnose “mild traumatic injury,” you could be doing yourself more harm than good.
Not documenting the accident and subsequent injuries
You’ve just been in a car accident, but how do you document it? If you don’t keep careful track of your injuries, you could slightly overstate your injuries in your claim. You want to accurately and thoroughly document all of your physical and mental wounds from the accident. You should also keep a journal or a spreadsheet of your medical bills and appointments related to your accident. If you need to file a claim with legal personnel like these Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, you have documentation of how your injuries have progressed.
Oversharing on social media
It can be tempting to discuss the details of your claim and your injuries publicly. However, you have to be very careful in social media posts. A judge can order you to reveal any information you have about the accident or your injury, including medical information and the financial details of your claim. This is a privilege, not a right, and there are laws in place that govern what people can say. If you overshare on social media, you risk violating those privacy laws and exposing yourself to a costly lawsuit.
Not taking the legal process seriously
If you don’t take the legal process seriously, your case may not have the best chance of success. Your lawyer may have to work harder to prove your case, and the process may take longer because of your mistakes. Work with your lawyer from an experienced personal injury firm like Villarreal Accident Law Firm. Provide all the details they need when requested and ensure you arrive promptly for any appointments or court sessions you are required to help your claim.
Settling a claim too soon
While you don’t want to overplay your hand during a personal injury claim, you also don’t want to push your luck too far. You may have been eager to file your claim, but you also want to ensure that it is the best claim possible. You may be tempted to settle too soon, particularly if you’re filing a claim against an insurance company. You want to make sure that you’ve done everything you can to make sure that your claim is strong and that you don’t want to settle for less than you deserve.
