General Instructions For Injury Clients

• Do not give any statements, written, recorded, or oral, to anyone concerning your accident or injuries without first getting our approval.
• Do not make any incorrect statement to any doctor who may treat or examine you respecting any prior injuries or accidents, if you don’t remember, say so.
• Do not change your address or employment without notifying your attorney.

• Accurately tell your physician or staff member how the accident happened, because this usually written down in your medical record.
• Make sure you inform your lawyer of all similar injuries and accidents which took place before and after the accident for which you are pursuing a claim.
• Address and Phone: Inform your attorney immediately of any change of address and/or telephone number or employment.
• Car Repair: If your vehicle was damaged, try to obtain pictures before you get it repaired. Use color film and take a whole roll of pictures. Bring the film to us and we will have it developed. If you do not have a camera, please call and we will make arrangements to take the pictures.
• Medical Items: Save all pill bottles, casts, braces, and any other items from your doctors.
• Photographs: Give us any pictures and videos of the accident or accident scene that you or anyone else has taken for you.
• Your job: Tell us of any changes in your job, job duties, salary or anything.
• Receipts: Be sure to obtain and save all receipts itemizing any and all expenses you incurred as a result of your accident. Receipts must be dated and contain legible and complete vendor identification.
• New information: Inform us of anything you think has a bearing on the case, including extensive medical treatment or hospitalization.

• Not seeing the doctor if you are in pain.
• Not doing what your doctor tells you.
• Not keeping your doctor appointments.
• Discussing your case with anyone other than your attorney or your doctor.
• Failing to tell your doctor about medical problems due to the accident.

Be sure to do what your doctors tell you. There is never a reason or excuse to miss a doctor’s appointment. By missing a doctor’s appointment, you are saying to the doctor and to the insurance company that you don’t hurt and that it doesn’t matter that much. Our job is to make a recovery for you for the pain and suffering that can be proven. Not going to the doctor is a good way to prove that you are not hurting and that you don’t care. If you don’t care, the doctor may not care. It is very important for you to work hard to get well and to go to all of your appointments.

If you are in pain and you do not see a doctor, the insurance company and the jury will not believe that you are having pain.

Each time you go to the doctor and report that you are still having pain, your doctor makes an entry in his records. It is important for your doctor to have up-to-date information on your condition. Some clients get discouraged and do not see their doctor even though they are having pain. This may harm your claim. It is important that your doctor knows how you are feeling.

When you are first interviewed, general information regarding your case is obtained. Materials relating to things you should or should not do will be furnished to you. You will be requested to sign certain authorization forms which will allow us to obtain your medical records and other necessary information.

We will notify the person who was responsible for your injury and/or their insurance company that you have retained us as your attorneys. Requests will be sent to all of the doctors and hospitals involved in your care for your chart and billing information.

Do not talk about your case with anyone except this office and your doctors. If your own insurance company wants to talk about your case before they pay your medical bills, please refer them to us.

Any necessary information from employers, schools, or other persons will be obtained by us. You should not sign anything for anyone else until you check with us first.

While your case is pending against the insurance company of the person that caused your injury, we try to arrange to have your medical bills paid by your own insurance company. This could be from the medical payments provision of your own automobile insurance policy or your own health insurance policy, or if applicable, worker’s compensation insurance. Please be sure that all medical bills that relate to your injury are sent to our office, so that we may forward them to the appropriate insurance company.

Please be sure to record the following:

• Lost work time and wages.
• Other expenses resulting from your injuries, i.e., transportation, home care, etc.
• Pain and suffering.
• Your physical limitations.

It is important to make your entries on an ongoing basis. A summary at the end of each month will not be as helpful to us. Copies of checks and receipts of payment, as well as the above records, will be very helpful when you may be asked by the insurance company or an attorney to recall your pain, physical disabilities, and any out-of-pocket expenses including medication.

Some of our clients are involved in an accident where there is no medical payments insurance, worker’s compensation or private health insurance. In such cases, your doctor will expect to be paid by you at the conclusion of this case. Often they will require you to agree, in writing, to have us pay them directly from the proceeds you receive. State laws sometimes permit health care providers to file a “lien” which must be paid out of the proceeds of your case. If your doctor asks you to sign what is often called a “lien letter”, be sure to contact our office. In some cases, it may not be appropriate for you to sign such an agreement.

When a claim is filed by an injured person, insurance companies routinely conduct a detailed investigation of the injured person’s background. It is not uncommon for an insurance company investigator to park his surveillance van near your house and videotape your activities. These investigators work very hard to obtain videotapes of claimants lifting heavy groceries or engaging in strenuous physical activity. However, these same surveillance tapes have been useful to corroborate our client’s limitations, including the use of canes, crutches, etc.

If you believe you are being watched, please call us and try to avoid the camera. Do not exaggerate your limitations or pose for the camera.

Every time any accident related insurance claim is made, insurance companies log this information into a central computer system which they share. Similarly, earlier and later accident and injury information can appear in medical, pharmacy, and insurance records which the defendants’ insurance companies and lawyers can obtain. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for you to inform your lawyer of any similar injuries, accidents, or disabilities which took place or existed either before or after the injury for which you are pursuing a claim.

If you are considering filing bankruptcy, you should know that you may lose all rights to your personal injury case. The Bankruptcy Court can take over your case, settle your case and give your settlement money to your creditors, and you will receive nothing. Be sure to talk to your lawyer before filing bankruptcy.

We cannot make your claim until after the doctors have given us reports stating exactly what your medical condition is and what they expect it to be in the future: in other words, until you have reached “maximum medical improvements”. Many times the doctors will be very slow in making these reports. We may even, on occasion, ask you to contact your doctor to speed up this report. If we try to settle your case before your medical condition is stabilized, you may lose money that you might be entitled to for a condition that did not show up until after your case was settled.

It is important to know that your case will not be settled until the damages have been determined and all investigations to determine who is liable have been completed. It generally takes several months to gather the necessary information. If a trial becomes necessary, it can take several years to complete a case. One of the most difficult requests we make of you is to have patience. We will work as hard and fast as possible to settle your case quickly.

If the insurance carrier is not willing to make a reasonable settlement offer, our firm will never pressure you into accepting it. In such a situation, the only alternative is to prepare for trial. Once all pre-trial procedures (such as exchanging medical reports, and attending physicals and depositions) are completed, your case will go on line with all other cases ready for trial, at the Courthouse in the County in which your case is venued. Depending on the County, this wait can be anywhere from six months to two years.

It is impossible for us to tell immediately how much money, if any, you will recover in connection with your case. There is no formula and each case is unique and different. In cases of serious injury, the ultimate recovery is often related to the amount of insurance coverage available, as well as the nature, extent, and duration of your injuries, along with an assessment of liability. As your attorneys, we feel it is our primary duty to obtain an amount of money which will fairly and justly compensate you for your injuries. We will make every effort to do this by locating all sources of money. We will advise you of our evaluation in this regard.

In general, most states allow recovery of damages for the following elements of damage:

• The nature and extent of injury, including whether the injury is permanent, and the amount of disability.
• Medical expenses, both past and reasonably certain to be incurred in the future. This includes mileage to and from the doctor or hospital.
• Wage loss, past and future and loss of capacity to earn a living
• Pain and suffering, including your motor vehicle and other items of personal property.
• Loss of consortium for your spouse, past and future.

It may be necessary to file a lawsuit to obtain an adequate recovery. This is a legal decision that should be made by your attorney with your input. Before filing suit in your case, we will obtain your permission and explain to you why we believe a lawsuit should be filed.

Although a lawsuit may have to be filed, settlement is always possible. Negotiations continue and only a small percentage of lawsuits actually go to trial.

The following are the steps necessary to bring the case to trial.

Pleadings are the documents that we will file in Court on your behalf in order to commence your lawsuit. The pleadings consist of a Summons and Complaint. The person who brings the lawsuit is the plaintiff–you. The person against whom the lawsuit is filed is the defendant.

After the Summons and Complaint are filed with the Court Clerk, they are forwarded to a licensed Process Server who delivers the Summons and Complaint to the defendant.

The responsive pleading filed by the attorney for the defendant is called an Answer. The Answer admits or denies the allegations contained in the Complaint.

Once the lawsuit is filed and the defendant has answered the complaint both sides have the right to “discover” the facts concerning the opposing party’s case. The usual discovery proceedings include the preparation of a bill of particulars, depositions, medical examinations and the production of documents and records.

Bill of Particulars: After we receive the defendant’s Answer, we will prepare a bill of particulars on your behalf. A bill of particulars is simply an amplification of the claims that we intend to prove in the lawsuit. The bill of particulars will include the date, time and location of the accident as well as the injuries (physical and economic) sustained and how the defendant caused them.
• Interrogatories: In Federal Court cases, each side may serve written questions on the opposing party, called “interrogatories”. You are required to answer these questions within a prescribed period of time, in writing and under oath. We will serve interrogatories on the defendant in your behalf, and the defendant will serve interrogatories on you, which you must answer. Our staff will assist you in preparing your answers.
• Depositions: A “deposition” is an oral and transcribed statement, under oath, which may be used by either side in a lawsuit. It has the same effect as testifying at trial. It is used to learn as much as possible about the other side’s claims or defenses. Those present are the parties concerned, their lawyers, sometimes an additional witness or two, and a court reporter who records the questions and answers.
  
  The lawyers normally agree in advance where the deposition will be held. It is usually in the office of one of the lawyers.
  
  You are required by law to give a deposition. This is not something in which we have a choice. Because of this, we will need your full cooperation. Prior to the deposition, your lawyer will go over the facts of the case with you and answer any questions you might have.
  
  YOUR DEPOSITION IS OFTEN THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR CASE. It is important that you be prepared well in advance of the deposition date.

In giving a deposition, there are a few rules to follow:

• Always tell the truth, even if it hurts your case.
• Answer only the questions. Do not make any voluntary statements or speeches.
• Think before you make any answer to any questions. If it concerns a matter about which you do not know, or a detail you do not remember, you may so state. However, once you have stated that you do not know or remember, it’s hard to change your testimony at trial.
• If you realize you made an error in answering an earlier question, say so. You will then be given an opportunity to correct it.
• Always be polite.

Frequently the other attorney will ask you many questions which will seem to you to have no bearing upon the case. Nevertheless, it is your duty to answer these questions, notwithstanding the fact that they may irritate you. Never conceal prior injuries or prior illnesses. Remember, the other side has the means of obtaining such information.

There are occasions when the parties submit the dispute to “mediation”. The parties meet with an independent third person, usually an experienced lawyer or retired judge, who assists the parties in arriving at a settlement. The results are not binding. It is informal, and less expensive than a trial. If that is an option to your case, your lawyer will discuss it with you.

If you were hit by an uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist, you may be eligible for benefits under your own policy or the policy that covered the vehicle you were in. Many insurance companies have special provisions if you desire to proceed against the uninsured motorist provision of the policy. In most cases, you will be able to collect for your lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, etc., in the same way as if the driver that hit you did have insurance. We ask that you provide us with a complete copy of your own insurance policy in force at the time of the accident.

Any injury claim, whether it stems from a car collision or other event that involves the government, is subject to special rules. The governmental entity involved may be the state, a city, a county, local government, or the United States. Generally, a Notice of Claim must be filed with the appropriate governmental agency very soon following your injury. If you believe that the government may be involved in your case, please notify us immediately.