5 Things that Can Hurt the Value of Your Personal Injury Case
If you've been injured through someone else's negligence or recklessness, your injury case may be worth thousands to tens of thousands (or more) of dollars. However, there are certain things that can hurt the value of your claim and make you less likely to receive full compensation for everything you deserve.
Here are 5 things that can hurt the value of your personal injury case:
1. Delay in Reporting Your Injury
3. Trying to 'Settle' Immediately or Without the Advice of a Lawyer
1. Delay in Reporting Your Injury
The sooner you report your injury, the better. If you don’t report an injury in a timely manner, it could hurt your case. If you have a slip and fall or trip and fall at a store, for example, you should report the injury immediately. If you cannot report it that day because of your injury, you should do so immediately when you are able so that the establishment is put on notice.
This is very important for the purposes of preserving evidence, such as video footage of the fall. This is why we advise clients to immediately contact an attorney after an injury, so the attorney can make efforts to notify the parties and preserve evidence.
Further, there may be a time period, called statute of limitations, or “Prescription” in Louisiana, where if you do not bring your claim within a certain period of time you lose your rights. As stated above, you should contact an attorney immediately after an injury so that the attorney can preserve your rights to recovery.
In Louisiana, for example, if you do not file a lawsuit within one year of the injury, you lose all of your rights as the claim has “prescribed.” Louisiana’s one-year prescriptive period is the shortest in the nation. Most states have longer periods.
Insurance companies do not want to pay out claims unless they absolutely have to and delaying reporting a claim gives the insurance company ammo to avoid paying you.
2. Too Little Documentation
You would be surprised how much documentation is required before the average insurance company will take personal injuries seriously and pay the claim. You cannot expect an insurance company to believe you with only your word and without written proof.
It helps if you have medical records, police reports, accident reports, and any other documents related to your injury as soon as possible.
If not all of this paperwork is readily available at claim time, it can significantly affect your claim's value and net you less money than needed for proper compensation.
A lawyer can obtain all of this information for you. A major service that we provide our clients is gathering all of this information for you.
3. Trying to 'Settle' Immediately or Without the Advice of a Lawyer
Insurance companies often try to encourage injured parties to settle immediately after a wreck and/or injury for pennies on the dollar before the injured party has a chance to become educated on what the injury is worth. Insurance companies do not want the injured person to have a chance to speak to a lawyer.
As lawyers, we have a duty and obligation to advise the client what an injury is worth - and the insurance companies hate that. Do not take the quick check! It is literally pennies on the dollar of what your case is worth.
If you allow them to push you around and settle for less, it will show the insurance companies that they can get away with lowballing everyone else as well – and then your claim will be worth even less next time!
4. Not Taking It Seriously and Posting on Social Media
If you're dealing with a personal injury case, you have to take it very seriously – especially if it goes to trial.
Injuries are no laughing matter, and any insurance adjuster or jury member is likely to take your case less seriously as a result if they see you playing around on Facebook or Instagram, going out of town on vacations frequently, or otherwise acting like your injury is not much of an issue.
If you want to live your best life, that is perfectly fine. However, if you do not take your case seriously, do not expect a judge or jury to be sympathetic to you and award you a large sum of money.
One of the single worst things you can do is make harmful social media posts. We cannot stress that enough. If you claim that your accident caused you severe pain, and you need constant treatment and medication, but then you post a video doing cartwheels on the beach, your entire case just went down the drain.
We strongly encourage (and in some cases require) all of our clients to stay off of social media during the course of our representation.
5. Caught on Surveillance
The insurance company may hire an investigator to follow you, monitor your activities, or even film you. This is especially likely if you claim major damages or your injuries require surgery. Be aware that someone could be watching (and recording) at all times!
If you are caught doing physically strenuous activities (lifting heavy objects, manual labor, working out, athletics, etc.), or if you are caught doing activities that you previously claimed you could no longer do, that could severely harm your case.
A bad surveillance video could destroy your credibility because it shows that you were exaggerating or untruthful about how your injuries affected your life. Bad surveillance will also harm your case because it shows that you were not as physically limited as you claimed.
Learn more
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and are looking for legal advice, contact us today. We will listen to your story, review your case, and advise you whether you have a case and what we can do for you.
