When an individual falls victim of a personal injury it can often be a worrying and uncertain time clouded by doubt of how to proceed with contacting a law firm to start the process of seeking compensation. If you or someone you know is currently in this position the following five key points will help you understand the steps that can now be taken to form a personal injury claim.
The first and most important step to take is to contact a law firm to seek advice as early on as possible. If you have suffered a personal injury as a result of medical malpractice, an accident that occurred at work or elsewhere, slipping and falling or even as a result of a product, it is important not to wait. The longer you decide to wait the less evidence you will be able to collect and the weaker your case becomes. It is also important that your first call is to a solicitor as taking matters into your own hands can often make things worse and isolate you in the matter. By seeking the years of experience and professionalism of a solicitor you will be able to decide how best to proceed in the situation.
It is also extremely important that you are completely honest with your solicitor when describing not only the details of what happened, but your medical past, any injuries you have sustained prior to the accident and any criminal history. Without all of this information your solicitor will be unable to make an accurate and fair judgement on where you would stand with your case. If you decide to not disclose everything to your solicitor, when it comes to later on in the proceedings whether it be in or out of court, the truth will surface and it can severely damage your case.
One of the key aspects of a personal injury case that often gets forgotten is being able to properly look after yourself. As soon as the accident occurs you should see a medical professional and from that moment follow all medical advice that is given to you. If there are any medications, check-ups, appointments, lab works, therapy or referrals of any type given you must follow through on all of them. Failing to adequately care for yourself can equally harm your claim as you may look as if you are trying to claim for a condition that has developed as a result of your own lack of care.
Depending on your situation, in some cases individuals will find that they are unknowingly being monitored by the defence. It isn’t uncommon for the defence to hire a professional private eye to watch, track and even record you if they have reason to believe you are lying about your injuries. If within your case you have stated that you are unable to carry out an activity such as walking or carrying any weight then you should not be doing/attempting any of these activities until advised to by your medical professional.
As with any case, privacy is key and whilst these days individuals have a tendency to post about their lives online for friends and family to know, it is not advisable. If the defence is able to get access to any of this information it could very easily harm your claim in numerous ways. Additionally, as with the last point, if they have hired someone to monitor you they are likely to be looking at your social media too so try to be as private as possible during this time.