We’ve all seen the ads from personal injury attorneys claiming that they’ve won cases that paid their clients millions of dollars. Of course, they don’t mention they received 30%-40% of the settlement, but that’s a subject for another blog.
Many injury claim cases result in a settlement, but other claims are unsuccessful. There are several reasons why some injury cases don’t result in a win.
The reasons include:
1. Misrepresentation
Giving an accurate and truthful account of what happened to result in your injury is important from the start to the finish of the legal proceedings. Exaggerations and false statements can result in losing your case. While it might be tempting to claim your injuries are more serious than they are, misrepresentation may lead to a court dismissing a claim or issuing sanctions.
2. Social Media
Posts you make on social media can be used as evidence against you in court. Statements, pictures, or videos you post that contradict the severity of the injury you’re claiming will be used by the opposing party’s team.
For example , if you claim your injuries have kept you from working and you post a video that shows you enthusiastically jumping around and cheering for your favorite basketball team, the opposing legal team can use the video to prove that you’ve exaggerated your injuries.
The best policy is to stay off social media platforms while your case is being litigated.
3. Speculation and Misstatements
The legal process is intimidating. During depositions you may be asked a question you don’t know the answer to. It’s okay to say you don’t know rather than speculating about an answer or assuming what someone else was thinking.
Speculating can lead to misstatements that weaken your case.
4. Trying to handle the case yourself
It takes skill and experience to reach a good settlement in a personal injury case. Most of us don’t know the ins-and-outs of negotiating with an insurance company or the complexity of when and what to file in the court system.
Attorneys can help take care of the nuts and bolts of filing paperwork and do the heavy lifting in hardball negotiations.
5. Hiding past accidents or injuries
Telling your attorney a detailed account of what happened from the beginning – the good and the bad – is essential to your case. Also, if there are some skeletons in your closet, they need time to prepare responses to confusing or unfavprable information.
Attorneys don’t want to be caught off guard. Telling your attorney everything upfront helps you and your case in the long run.
6. Not being prepared
When you have a court appearance, you need to know what it’s for, and you need to meet with your attorney before the appearance.
Preparation is key. Your attorney needs to have the time to help you prepare and practice your responses so you feel comfortable and confident. Not taking the time to be prepared can harm your case and affect the settlement.
Use common sense throughout your personal injury claim and avoid the things that can hurt the claim and the resolution of your case.
We’ve all seen the ads from personal injury attorneys claiming that they’ve won cases that paid their clients millions of dollars. Of course, they don’t mention they received 30%-40% of the settlement, but that’s a subject for another blog.
Many injury claim cases result in a settlement, but other claims are unsuccessful. There are several reasons why some injury cases don’t result in a win.
The reasons include:
1. Misrepresentation
Giving an accurate and truthful account of what happened to result in your injury is important from the start to the finish of the legal proceedings. Exaggerations and false statements can result in losing your case. While it might be tempting to claim your injuries are more serious than they are, misrepresentation may lead to a court dismissing a claim or issuing sanctions.
2. Social Media
Posts you make on social media can be used as evidence against you in court. Statements, pictures, or videos you post that contradict the severity of the injury you’re claiming will be used by the opposing party’s team.
For example , if you claim your injuries have kept you from working and you post a video that shows you enthusiastically jumping around and cheering for your favorite basketball team, the opposing legal team can use the video to prove that you’ve exaggerated your injuries.
The best policy is to stay off social media platforms while your case is being litigated.
3. Speculation and Misstatements
The legal process is intimidating. During depositions you may be asked a question you don’t know the answer to. It’s okay to say you don’t know rather than speculating about an answer or assuming what someone else was thinking.
Speculating can lead to misstatements that weaken your case.
4. Trying to handle the case yourself
It takes skill and experience to reach a good settlement in a personal injury case. Most of us don’t know the ins-and-outs of negotiating with an insurance company or the complexity of when and what to file in the court system.
Attorneys can help take care of the nuts and bolts of filing paperwork and do the heavy lifting in hardball negotiations.
5. Hiding past accidents or injuries
Telling your attorney a detailed account of what happened from the beginning – the good and the bad – is essential to your case. Also, if there are some skeletons in your closet, they need time to prepare responses to confusing or unfavprable information.
Attorneys don’t want to be caught off guard. Telling your attorney everything upfront helps you and your case in the long run.
6. Not being prepared
When you have a court appearance, you need to know what it’s for, and you need to meet with your attorney before the appearance.
Preparation is key. Your attorney needs to have the time to help you prepare and practice your responses so you feel comfortable and confident. Not taking the time to be prepared can harm your case and affect the settlement.
Use common sense throughout your personal injury claim and avoid the things that can hurt the claim and the resolution of your case.