7 ways to avoid
negligence in your personal injury claim
When it comes to litigating a personal injury claim, there is
nothing worse than your own negligence. Personal injury cases often turn on
nuances and can boil down to how well your present and record favorable
evidence. If you are not able to pay attention to each facet of the case, you
can expect your potential awards to perpetually diminish. Legal theories are
extremely fragile and are full of contradictions that can undermine your legal
claim entirely. Here are 7 ways to avoid negligence while litigating your
personal injury claim.
#1: Contributory Negligence
When you are litigating a personal injury claim, the defendants
can always argue that you are at least 50 percent responsible for your
injuries. If you failed to mitigate the damages or did not take appropriate
actions to prevent the injury, this can bar financial compensation. For this
reason, you should always be careful to work through an attorney. A law firm
such as Foyle
Legal Perth can help you present the most black and white
case of the defendant's fault as possible. If you give the defendants any
footing, they will take that loophole and run with it.
#2: Comparative Negligence
There are times when the jury will find that you were at least
partially responsible for your own injuries. This, likewise, occurs when you
fail to mitigate or reasonably prevent it using common sense. For example, if
you found out that you were sick due to the food at the school cafeteria, why
did you continue to eat it for a year? While you may have had doubts during
that time that the school food was the cause, the defendant may be able to
argue that you were less than 50 percent responsible for your own injuries.
This can dramatically reduce the potential awards. The defendants' attorneys
can present trick questions and hard questions that would open up this
loophole.
#3: Misstatements
Aside from misstatements that open up the door for subtle
counterdefenses like comparative and contributory negligence, any
misstatement or poorly worded statement can throw your entire claim. The
insurance adjusters and attorneys representing the defendants are crafty at
adding their own spin to words. They can take fragments of phrases out of
context and read in a meaning that you didn't intend. If you agree that it was
overcast and hard to see, they can use this to justify why their client did not
see you on your motorcycle even if it was clear in the area. They can also play
dumb when they are asking you questions on the witness stand and pretend that
they don't understand to misrepresent your words. You should always have an
experienced attorney represent you to ensure that there are no misstatements
for your opponents to exploit.
#4: Posting on Social Media
It is becoming paramount for victims of personal injury claims
to avoid posting on social media. Like taking your words out of context, public
social media presents the perfect opportunity for your opponents to deflate or
counter your claims. If you claim that you are suffering and in chronic deep
pain, a picture of you smiling on social media is not going to help your case.
Furthermore, if you claim that you are having trouble walking and with lower
back pain, you can't post up videos or photographs of you dancing. Although
injuries may have periods when you are able to grin and bear it, you cannot
allow these fragments of evidence to find their way into cyberspace. They can
come back to haunt you.
#5: Statute of Limitations
When it comes time to file a claim, an insurance company may
mislead you regarding the deadline for you to file a claim if they don't make a
settlement. If they actively mislead you regarding the statute of limitations,
there are legal provisions to extend the statute of limitations. However, if
they did not put this in writing or you misplaced the letter, then you will
have a difficult time proving this in court.
Be aware that the statute of limitations to file for a personal
injury claim varies from state to state. The statute of limitation acts an
ultimate bar to filing a claim when it has passed a certain timeframe of 1
year, 2, or more years from the date of injury or as defined by a state. You
should also be aware that federal courts typically rely on the state laws
filing deadlines for any events that occurred in that state and have no uniform
statute of limitations of their own.
#6: Poor Record Keeping
When you are litigating a personal injury case, most of the
damages are going to be based on objective evidence. You have to define and
calculate the numerous financial transactions and bills. If you are poorly
organized and do not keep proper records, it can be confusing when it comes
time to tally up the damages. Although most bank records will help to alleviate
any mismanagement, these may be a mere skeleton of the information that you
want. It is always better to keep any actual receipts with expenses itemized
for complete records.
#7: Failing to Document Injuries
If you do not document the toll and extent of your injuries, it
will be harder to present this information in court. The more evidence that you
have to document the suffering that you went through in the recovery process, the
better footing that you'll have when it comes time to collect damages for pain
and suffering. For this reason, you should always hire an attorney who is
well-versed in personal injury claims to have medical experts document your
injuries.
You can also take video recordings to create a timeline of your
progress and the challenges that you face. The best place would be to have
someone document the physical therapy and other treatments that you must go
through to recover. Some of these photos or videos may also have an emotional
impact with jurors and can be used to increase the payout when negotiating a
fair settlement.