/ WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'VE BEEN INJURED
DON'T WAIT TO FINISH YOUR TRIP.
DON'T PUT IT OFF.
DON'T TOUGH IT OUT.
If you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, we recommend taking these steps immediately after an your accident:
1. TAKE PHOTOS permalink
Take photos of what caused your accident. This could be the liquid on the floor on which you slipped or the cars involved in a crash. Also, take pictures of the scene and location of the accident.
2. REPORT THE INCIDENT permalink
Call the police after a motor vehicle crash, or speak to a manager or employee of a store or business after your trip or slip and fall to report the incident. If the police respond to an accident, a crash report will be created. If a report is made to a business, an incident report may be filled out. We can use these later to establish what happened and when.
3. SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT RIGHT AWAY permalink
From a health perspective, get the medical treatment you need to be well. Putting it off can only make it worse or extend your suffering. From a legal perspective, if you don’t seek care right away, it enables the at-fault party’s insurance company or defense attorneys to argue the severity of your injury.
4. CONTACT US permalink
The earlier we get involved, the earlier we can advise you on the best way to proceed. Reach us here, by email or by phone (855-523-5628).
/ TIPS permalink
DON'T WAIT TO FINISH YOUR TRIP. DON'T PUT IT OFF. DON'T TOUGH IT OUT. permalink
We get that you’re on vacation or a business trip. You’re busy, and you certainly don’t want to spend time in an emergency room or seeing doctors. But, for your health and the best chance for your case, seek the medical attention you need and follow the advice and treatment recommendations the medical professionals provide–even if that means rest or follow-up appointments.
True. No one wants to spend their vacation tending to an injury. However, if you are in pain but tough it out and ignore medical advice in order to spend time with your family or friends doing physically demanding activities (swimming, water skiing, walking long distances, playing on the beach, etc.), the at fault party’s insurance company or defense attorneys can question your level of injury and pain (“How injured can you be if you didn’t go to the hospital / see the specialist that you were referred to?” “How bad can the pain be if you were able to go swimming?”). Even worse, they can argue that your injury might result from these other activities and not the initial accident!
STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA permalink
Keep that pic of you and your family posing in front of the restaurant before dinner off social media. Keep all photos off social media. Even simple ones that don’t show any physical exertion will be used by the insurance company and defense attorneys to argue the severity of your injury. Social media has made it easy for them… “You look fine in this photo. You’re standing up ok. You don’t look like you’re in pain.”
URGENT CARE CLINICS permalink
Annoyed with emergency rooms and hospitals? Consider going to an urgent care clinic. They’re often less busy, faster and, if you don’t actually have a viable claim, less expensive. For your legal case, they’re just as good as going to an emergency room.
DON'T TALK TO THE DEFENDANT, THEIR LAWYERS OR THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY permalink
You should get an attorney (we recommend us…). Even if you don’t have an attorney yet, don’t talk to them. Their job is to get you to say things that put doubt as to responsibility or your level of pain and suffering. Even a simple interaction (“How are you doing?” “Fine.” “Fine? Then you must not be in that much pain.”) can be manipulated. This is why you have an attorney like us. Let us do the talking to these representatives.
Another tactic they make take is to get you to agree to what seems like a large sum of money in the very beginning of your treatment process. They’re doing that because they know this amount is small compared to what their full responsibility may be. Again, let us negotiate. We know to avoid these pitfalls.
FINISH YOUR TREATMENTS permalink
The real in-earnest negotiations begin after your medical treatment is completed so that we know the final expenses. A payout from a settlement or court case is a one-time deal (though depending on your injury, the payout may include future expenses). If you haven’t completed treatment and later feel you need to seek more care after the case is over, we can’t pursue more money from the at-fault party’s insurance company.