5 Big Mistakes Personal Injury Victims Make in Los Angeles
Too many mistakes are made when it comes to personal injuries in the Los Angeles metro area. When a mistake is made, it could mean you get less than what is just and fair. When a mistake is made, it could also mean your recovery time is longer than necessary simply because you don’t receive just and fair compensation to deal with all the pain and suffering, and many other damages.
The good news is this: most mistakes are avoidable so long as you can identify them, and they are also correctable if you respond timely and properly.
If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury––whether it’s property damage, bodily harm, mental distress, emotional trauma, or financial losses––you can seek compensation if the harm was caused by another person or entity’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional act. Keep the below five big mistakes in mind so that you don’t make them, too. In doing so, you’ll maximize your chances of a successful outcome.
Mistake No. 1: Failure to Identify a Personal Injury Claim
Imagine an elderly person with a severe case of osteoporosis taking her sick dog to the vet. The sidewalk owned by the vet office is uneven. This person trips and falls, fracturing her neck. She complains to the vet, but nothing is done. She figures it was her fault anyway since she fell, and her insurance paid for the medical care, so what else could be done? Nothing is done, her neck bone never fully heals, and for the rest of her life, she suffers chronic pain.
This is a true story, and it’s probably a similar one that many people have experienced if not personally, then by someone close. Worse yet: by the time the victim learned she had a case, the statute of limitations had run out.
Most personal injuries, you know if someone was at fault for it and, as such, are liable. Other times, you might just want to move on because you don’t know what your rights are and feel intimidated to find out.
What is the fundamental problem with this mistake?
You could lose out on the compensation you deserve.
What should you do to avoid this mistake?
There is an obligation-free way to confirm if you have a viable personal injury case or not. An attorney can speak with you, listen to the facts and circumstances, and give you an idea of whether you should pursue it or not. So, to avoid this number one mistake too many people make, contact us. We’ll put you in touch with an attorney who (1) has experience in the same types of cases; and (2) offers free initial case evaluations.
Mistake No. 2: Failure to Collect and Preserve Evidence
It’s understandable. After an incident happens and you are harmed and possibly even stunned, you may not think initially to take pictures or take down the contact information of witnesses. Indeed, there are times when you can’t because you may have been taken immediately to the hospital. But when there is an opportunity, too many people fail to collect and preserve evidence. They think it’ll be there forever, but it won’t. That is critical.
Consider an eye witness. You are able to obtain contact information from a police report, but you don’t contact that person until a year later. It’s still within the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases, but that eye witness likely forgot all the details of the event. In fact, they may have even forgotten about it. The witness may have had important information that could have established an element of the claim but now, you won’t be able to use it.
There are so many examples of different situations that could be given here. The thing to remember is this: evidence can disappear. Documentation, photographs, and video may endure, but that’s true only if it is preserved and not lost. Further, memories and scenes of the accident will fade and disappear.
What is the fundamental problem with this mistake?
Critical evidence that could be the difference between a successful claim and an unsuccessful one may not be collected or preserved, and, cannot be used in negotiations of a settlement or admitted as evidence for trial.
What should you do to avoid this mistake?
The solution is simple yet considerable:
1. Save everything.
2. Take pictures of everything.
3. Don’t throw anything from the event away.
4. Get organized.
5. Find an attorney as soon as possible who can properly and adequately collect and preserve the evidence.
Remember, the evidence must be sufficient to prove all the elements of the claim. If one element isn’t satisfied, your claim will fail.
Schedule a consultation and get legal advice. Your case evaluation is free, private, and tailored to your case.
Mistake No. 3: Failure to Follow a Care Plan
Your doctors give orders for a reason. It’s for your health. Depending on the injury or illness, you may need to take a certain medication or go to physical therapy. Sometimes, though, victims of personal injuries feel better well before they are to stop taking medicine or going to therapy. In the interest of moving on or convenience, these victims choose to stop following the care plan. They may even fail to follow up with their doctor.
It’s understandable that they want to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Don’t we all? But failing to follow a care plan exactly as instructed creates space for the defendant to challenge your claims.
On the other side of the coin, there are those who are a bit more stoic and decide to suffer through the pain. They may have already made mistake number one and assumed they aren’t entitled to a personal injury claim. Even if not, the mistake is made. They don’t even go get checked, or if they did, they don’t follow through with it.
But following through with a care plan or whatever the doctor ordered is necessary. It documents and verifies your injury and progress as well as help you get better. The more documentation you have, the more evidence you, and we already mentioned above why evidence is important.
What is the fundamental problem with this mistake?
If you don’t follow your doctor’s orders, whatever that may entail and no matter how better you may feel, the insurance adjuster or defense attorney will try to use that against you to reduce a settlement or avoid paying you altogether.
What should you do to avoid this mistake?
This solution to this mistake is the easiest of all mistakes listed on this page: follow your doctor’s orders. Even if you need transportation back and forth between home or work and the doctor’s office, that transportation can be reimbursed via a personal injury claim or lawsuit.
Mistake No. 4: Unrealistic Expectations
Unrealistic expectations are often created by things like stories from friends, TV shows or the news. There are also lawyers who are dishonest and excite their clients with big thoughts of what they are owed and what they could get just so they can get the case and get paid. In this scenario, the attorney is probably inexperienced or doesn’t have experience in the specific type of personal injury case and, thus, doesn’t truly know what the case is worth but makes a big presumption that leads to unrealistic expectations and subsequent bad feelings and failure. Ideas that your injury could lead to millions in compensation are dreamy, and that’s probably where they’ll remain, too: in your dreams.
But then there are also those who think the injury is too minimal or they take on their own case without legal representation. Without experience, knowledge, insight, and skills, they may settle for the first offer, which is typically well under the value of the claim.
What is the fundamental problem with this mistake?
When you have unrealistic expectations about the worth of your case or about its outcome, you set yourself up for failure––even if you “win” a settlement, you may not have received what you should have or, alternatively, you just feel bitter and angry that you didn’t get what you believed you should have.
What should you do to avoid this mistake?
You need to speak to someone with experience, someone who can evaluate your case and give an honest opinion about its worth and viability. That “someone” is an experienced, compassionate, honest personal injury attorney.
Mistake No. 5: Self-Representation, even though Unprofessional and Ineffective
When we are in pain, we want whatever we can get. You may have been out of work due to the injury or may have to pay for medicine or therapy out of pocket. So, you think the best way to save on costs and to get the most out of a claim is to represent yourself. Self-representation, however, is accompanied by some serious challenges.
- You may not be able to identify all defendants, and, therefore, may not take advantage of all possibilities to obtain just and fair compensation.
- You may find it daunting and intimidating to negotiate with high-powered, well-oiled, experienced insurance lawyers.
- You may let your emotions get the best of you and lose sight of the ultimate goal: healing and recovery.
- You may talk to the defendant’s insurance company and expose yourself to challenges, or you may sign a medical privacy release for the other party’s insurance company at their request, which could potentially result in a reduction of any settlement award.
- You may get too aggressive or may not be aggressive enough.
- You may settle too early, meaning you get less than what is deserved; or you may let the case go on and forget about the statute of limitations until after it expires, meaning you get nothing at all.
- You may not be able to navigate all the complexities and nuances of personal injury law.
- You may file a personal injury claim laden with errors and mistakes.
What is the fundamental problem with this mistake?
You lose your personal injury claim or lawsuit.
What should you do to avoid this mistake?
To avoid this mistake, don’t represent yourself. That said, there are times, like when a claim worth no more than $10,000 and a small claims lawsuit is filed. In these situations, an attorney cannot represent you at court, but––and this is a big but––that does not mean you cannot retain the services of an attorney for legal advice and guidance. The best thing to do, and the free thing to do, is to contact us so that we can connect you with an attorney in Los Angeles who has experience in automobile accidents, medical malpractice, product defects, defamation, dog bites, or another personal injury case and who also offers a free initial consultation.
Don’t Make the Same Mistakes: Get an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Los Angeles Today
It’s our job to help you find the right attorney so that mistakes like the above don’t create challenges in your personal injury case. Our extensive network of personal injury attorneys in the Los Angeles metro area will benefit you in this one meaningful way: it will take the frustration out of searching for an attorney on your own. We provide this service because we know how exhausting recovering from an injury can be, let alone trying to find adequate and competent representation.
But we also do more than that. We connect you with a lawyer skilled and knowledgeable of the type of personal injury case you have. Personal injury law is so diverse and so nuanced. Defamation cases are approached differently than in medical malpractice cases. The same is true for defective products, dog bites, auto accidents, and the like. Strategies are not one-size-fits-all.
Let us help you find the right attorney. Contact us today.
