5 Common Legal Mistakes to Avoid While Going for a Personal Injury Claim

When filing for personal injury claims, many people lessen their case accidentally. There are some things you just shouldn’t do while you are trying to claim for an injury… but what are they? We put together this guide to what legal mistakes to avoid, in order to help you make the most of your lawsuit.

So what are the most common legal mistakes to avoid if you are filing a personal injury lawsuit? Let’s find out!

The 5 Most Common Legal Mistakes when Filing for Personal Injury

When filing a personal injury claim, here are the top things you should be avoiding!

1 – Letting Time Pass

This might sound strange – but your personal injury lawyer is likely to have more than just a single case on their hands. It is highly likely that the other forty or fifty cases they are working on all have deadlines and paperwork of their own to be processed. This means that you might end up missing deadlines if you don’t take the reigns. Pester your personal injury lawyer when your dates approach or choose a reliable organisation like Johnston Law Firm instead.

2 – Discarding Crucial Evidence

A personal injury claim is still an investigation. If you have to attend medical centres and don’t keep records of times and dates, bills and procedures, then you are letting yourself down. All of this evidence comes together to determine your award. In most personal injury cases your chances of success are greatly improved with the addition of photographic evidence or proper documentation.

Collecting witness numbers, returning to the scene of the accident, and documenting the damage to any vehicles involved can all help your case.[i]

3 – Accepting a Settlement Straight Away

It will take a few weeks for the courts to receive all of the evidence of your claim. During this time, the offending party may make an offer. This is a token offer and, although it might be tempting to take it and forget the whole sorry situation – you will be shooting yourself in the proverbial foot. Don’t accept any settlement made before your medical evidence has been reviewed… It’s only common sense.[ii]

4 – Not Researching Enough

Similarly too accepting your deal too early; not doing enough research can also cost you money. When you don’t return to the scene with a camera, document your injuries, or preserve other pieces of evidence, times and dates, you minimize your chances of reaching a fair settlement. The more information you can give your attorney – the better. Personal injury claims are much more likely to be successful with good documentation.

5 – Discounting your Mental Health

The costs go deeper than mere monetary losses. When you suffer an injury you need recovery time, you have extra financial strain, and your social life suffers. Personal injuries extend into all aspects of your life. All aspects of your life are therefore impacted by this negative effect on your mental health. Tell your personal injury attorney all about it. It is likely to have incurred costs of its own and help to overcome mental damage should be factored into the overall equation.

[i] https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/personal-injury-accidents-preserve-evidence-30018.html

[ii] https://www.truthlegal.com/14-common-mistakes-personal-injury-clients-make/