13 Do's & Don'ts for Protecting Your Case

DO tell your doctor of each pain, symptom and limitation you are experiencing.

Comment: Let the doctor know of all pain, problems and impairment quite accurately. Many injury victims have a tendency to be overly optimistic about their medical progress or are stoic about their medical problems. Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers will use the lack of recorded complaints/problems against you. Please understand that we are not asking you to embellish your problems. (A doctor may detect and record overstated complaints and exaggeration). We are simply asking you not to understate your medical problems either. If you don't report the problem, no one else will. If the doctor and/or healthcare provider is doing their job, then your ongoing problems will be documented in your medical chart. Remember the old saying: "If it ain't documented, it didn't happen." Insurance adjusters and juries will not simply take you at your word that you are having problems; it must be supported by the medical documentation.

DO keep doctor appointments and physical therapy appointments.

Comment: Time after time, injury victims have let serious injury cases be trivialized by a defense lawyer because they have missed medical appointments and/or abandoned medical care. Later, the clients' claims of medical problems lack credibility because there is no medical documentation to support these claims. If you must miss an appointment, then promptly reschedule it. Gaps in your medical treatment are hard to explain.

DO tell us if you have no way to pay for your healthcare.

Comment: Inability to pay for medical care will not justify not receiving healthcare. Your complaints must be corroborated by credible medical documentation. Let us know right away if inability to pay for healthcare is keeping you from receiving healthcare.

DO tell us if you think the course of medical care is ineffective or that a healthcare provider is unnecessarily running up their bill.

Comment: Some healthcare providers will over-treat. Over-treatment may result in a lack of credibility as to you and/or your healthcare provider. Moreover, it can cause medical expenses to outstrip the value of your case. Consequently, while receiving medical care is paramount, it must also be balanced, reasonable and necessary care. Once your healthcare has plateaued, then we will be in a position to evaluate the case and make a settlement demand on the insurance company.

DO keep a record of medical providers and/or medical facilities where you have sought treatment.

Comment: Once you have completed your course of medical care, our office will gather billing records and medical records for each and every physician, hospital, physical therapist, pharmacist, etc. who has provided medical care and/or services to you in connection with your injuries. If you have kept a good record of medical providers where you have treated, it will allow our office the opportunity to gather your medical records in a timely and efficient manner.

DO remember that conversations, letters, correspondence and/or e-mails between you and this office are confidential.

Comment: Repeating or sharing discussions about your case with others may result in a waiver of the attorney-client privilege. Moreover, you don't need your business on the street. We will handle your case in the strictest of confidentiality and expect you to do the same. If you choose to keep a journal of the impact this injury has had on you and your life, then you should start your entry by addressing it to your attorney in the form of a letter; you should end it as a letter, too. (This will make it an attorney-client communication). Likewise, reviewing anything that helps "refresh your memory" before giving a deposition may waive the attorney-client privilege. Consequently, if you wish to review something to refresh your memory before your deposition, please consult your attorney first.

DO document property damages and/or bodily injuries with photographs.

Comment: Remember the old saying: "One picture is worth a thousand words." Cuts, bruises and bent fenders all tell a story. Document the damages with photography while they are fresh (before they heal or are repaired). Film and digital images are inexpensive but effective demonstrative evidence.

DO preserve and keep any physical evidence which may be beneficial to your case.

Comment: The Rules of Evidence require that tangible, physical evidence be sponsored by a witness who can confirm its "chain of custody." Consequently, any tangible evidence should be kept by you in a safe place and protected from access by anyone else
who might tamper with it. Moreover, your attorney cannot be a witness in your case. For this reason, you must keep it, unless otherwise directed by your attorney to turn it over to someone else.

DO NOT do anything in public that is inconsistent with your injuries.

Comment: Please remember that insurance companies are famous for video surveillance. There is nothing worse than a claimant who verbally complains of pain and physical limitations following an injury but is captured on videotape doing chores or activities that are perceived as inconsistent with the injuries. Insurance adjusters and their lawyers have a way of twisting things. While such video surveillances do not happen daily, they do happen from time to time. The problem is you never know when or where such surveillance may take place. So again, do not do anything in public that you cannot explain or that would be inconsistent with the injuries you are describing - to your doctors or to us.

DO NOT give a written or recorded statement to anyone.

Comment: Seemingly innocent comments made by you to an insurance adjuster (or anyone else for that matter) may be twisted out of context and used against you. You have an attorney now; let us do the talking for you.

DO NOT change doctors without conferring with our office first.

Comment: Sometimes, a treating physician will refer you to another specialist. Unfortunately, some doctors are very, very aligned with the insurance industry. Our law firm will not tell you what doctor to see, nor will we micro-manage your healthcare; however, we may serve as a valuable resource to you in the event that you have been referred to a doctor that has a reputation for helping the insurance industry. By resourcing us, you may possibly avoid unknowingly going to an insurance oriented doctor.

DO NOT lie about past injuries, past criminal convictions, past traffic citations, past lawsuits, or anything else.

Comment: Your credibility (honesty) is critical. With subpoenas, private investigators, and the internet, it is not unusual at all for insurance representatives or their lawyers to learn everything about your past, including injuries, medical care, legal filings, criminal records and anything else that may be documented by any agency or entity. If you deny such past problems, your credibility will be destroyed. If your credibility is destroyed, then your case will be destroyed. Insurance representative and juries will not help people they do not believe. If you have any of these types of problems in your past, they are probably not significant to your current injury case anyway. We can often put such past problems in proper context, explain them, and perhaps keep them out of evidence as irrelevant, provided that you do not lie about them; however, if you lie about them and it is discovered, they will come into evidence to show that you are not honest. You do not want that to happen to your case. The best way we can help you is by you telling us all of your past problems and letting us understand the context rather than letting us get ambushed later in the case.

This advice also applies to the statements you make to your doctors. You need to truthfully advise them of past medical problems. Past medical problems that are withheld from your doctor will cause you and your doctor great problems if the insurance defense
attorney is the first one to offer the information to your doctor.

DO NOT schedule any vacations while your case is pending.

Comment: Insurance representatives and/or juries may react adversely to injured claimants going on a vacation. It may appear to an adjuster or a jury that you are enjoying life a little too much; they will not help you if they believe that to be the case. If a vacation has already been planned, or suddenly an unexpected vacation opportunity presents itself, please discuss this matter with your attorney before finalizing any plans.