Ten percent of us get hurt in accidents, often due to someone else’s
carelessness. Last week, I talked about setting goals for successful completion
of your legal case if you are in that group. Today, I’ll add to
the list of things you can do to help your attorney and, therefore, yourself
in a meaningful way.
- Don’t talk to anyone except your attorney and immediate, trusted
family members about your case. That is especially true when the insurance
adjuster for the at fault party calls you to get facts and take a recorded
statement. You will be on thin ice if you talk to that person.
- Keep and give to your attorney every item that comes into your possession
that may be evidence in your case. That includes oral statements and written
ones, like letters, made by the defendant at the scene or later. It also
includes things like parts of equipment that failed and hurt you, shoes
if you slipped and fell, and any foreign substance that you slipped on
in a store. Residue from the substance may be on your clothes.
- If possible, take photographs of the accident scene, damage to vehicles,
wounds and surgical sites, and pieces of equipment or appliances that
injured you. Give them to your attorney who may use them as evidence to
support your case.
- Since lost wages is an important part of any injury case, keep track of
the time you have lost and the wages you were earning. If you were injured
so badly that you cannot return to your old job, make a list of places
where you seek new employment, the dates you apply, who interviews you,
and the results you get. Jot down the reason you are given for not getting
the job, such as, “We can’t use someone who has a hurt back.”
That kind of statement is very important to prove the harmful effect of
an injury on future employability and future loss of earnings.
I hope these suggestions will help you if you have been injured by someone’s
negligence.