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What To Do Right Now
If You’ve Been Hurt
© 2010, Lee Tarte Wallac
Don’t blow your case because you forget to keep the evidence! Here are ten things you need to be doing RIGHT NOW to help with your lawsuit.
(1) Preserve the evidence.
Take pictures or video of anything that may change over time – your injuries, or the intersection where you were hurt. If you were hurt by a product, save the product and don’t let it be changed in any way.
(2) Immediately Notify the Insurance Companies
Tell them about what happened as soon as possible – both your own insurance company as well as the insurance company for the person who caused your injury. You may wish to contact an attorney before you give a statement to the insurance company.
(3) Keep a list of each doctor you see
Include what that doctor’s specialty is and what the doctor’s address and phone number are. If you see physical therapists, or have regular nurses or nurses’ aides, write down their names also.
(4) Collect your medical records and bills
Ask the doctors and hospitals for your medical records and bills. Your attorney will need to see this information.
(5) Contact a lawyer promptly
Remember -- you only have a certain, limited amount of time in which to bring your suit. Don’t lose your opportunity by being too slow.
(6) Don’t settle just part of your suit.
Cases are like towers made out of blocks– if you pull a block out of the bottom, the whole tower may fall. Your case has to be evaluated as a whole. You can’t simply extract one piece from the case, settle it, and assume the rest of the case will be unaffected. If you want a lawyer to help you with the case, the lawyer will need to evaluate the entire case.
(7) Write down the names of witnesses and similar key information right away
Over time, you will forget critical information such as the names of witnesses. While that information remains fresh in your mind, write it down to give to your attorney. Remember that witnesses fall into two categories. “Scene witnesses” are people who saw some portion of the actual incident. “Lay witnesses” know you, and can see what you have been through in trying to get better, and how things have changed for you since your injury. You want to write down the names of both types of witnesses.
(8) Keep a record of your damages
If you must miss work, write down the days that you are out. If you have to hire someone to do something you normally would do (e.g., clean the house, mow the lawn, or take the kids to school), write down whom you hired, when, and how much you paid the person.
(9) Keep your doctor’s appointments
As a courtesy to your doctor, keep all your appointments. If you must miss an appointment for a very good reason, give the doctor plenty of notice and be sure to reschedule. If you don’t bother to show up at doctors’ appointments, any jury will conclude that you must not be all that ill.
(10) Treat all your medical professionals with the utmost respect
The doctors, nurses and therapists who will work with you are almost always fine, decent people who devote their lives to helping others, and they deserve respect. I have seen several clients lose cases (or be unable to find counsel to represent them) because they so infuriated their medical professionals that the medical professionals refused to testify even as to obvious facts about the medical care. While the behavior of the doctors may not have been truly professional, it is humanly understandable, and it can be avoided if you treat your medical providers with respect.
(11) Don’t miss more work than you truly need to
Sometimes injured people are tempted to miss more work than they absolutely need to. Maybe they reason that they don’t like their jobs, and they can be paid for time they miss, so why go? Such thinking almost always backfires. Juries like to see people who try very hard to get better, and to go on with their lives. On the other hand, juries will penalize folks who malinger. Furthermore, doctors will notice when people are exaggerating their illnesses, and note the problem right in the medical records.
Thank you for considering our firm.
We realize that if you select us, you will be entrusting us with one of the most important matters in your life.
To further assist you in your search for help, we have prepared some additional materials for you.
How to Pick a Lawyer
What to Expect
This section is password protected.
Please email us or call (404) 814-0465 to get the password and we also welcome you to submit your case to us for a free review.
The contents of this page: (a) should not be considered or relied upon as legal, financial or other professional advice in any manner whatsoever, and (b) may be considered advertising under some state’s Bar Rules. Unless otherwise stated, no article or text at this Internet site is, has been, or will be updated or revised for accuracy as statutory or case law changes following the date of first publication. Always consult with your lawyer and/or your other professional advisors before acting.
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2170 Defoor Hills Road -- Atlanta, GA 30318 -- Call (404) 814-0465 -- Email Us
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