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ARTICLES AND BRIEFS
Articles & Briefs
Protecting Your Legal Rights After an Injury
The steps an injured party takes immediately after an accident can spell the difference between a successful claim and a difficult one. We offer our clients some simple tips for steps to take and avoid after receiving injuries caused by someone else. These tips are not legal advice, nor is this a comprehensive list of everything you should do for all types of accidents. You should consult with an attorney at Clausen Law Firm or other legal advisor for specific instructions based on the particular facts of your case.
Obtain Necessary Information
The information you need to acquire varies depending on the cause and nature of the injury. If you are in an auto accident, you will need to obtain the other driver’s name, address, and insurance policy information. If witnesses saw the accident, see if you (or a companion) can get the names and phone numbers of the witnesses. If an officer investigates the accident, you should also get the officer’s name and badge number, and find out if he/she is filing a report. We can assist in getting a copy of the accident report and interpreting it. These generally are prepared sometime after the accident.
If you are injured by a defective product, you should save the item or available parts of it. Check the packaging if you have it, and look for the manufacturer, model number, serial number and date of manufacture. If possible, save receipts that show the date and place of purchase.
If you find a foreign object in processed or prepared food, be sure to keep the foreign object as well as the food and container. Again, a receipt showing the time and place of purchase can be very helpful. Also important is any packaging or container that held the food.
For construction site and other workplace injuries, the important records are those that show when you worked and couldn’t work. Also important, obviously, are treatment records and notes from the doctor about limits on activities such as lifting. These type of documents are important for workers’ compensation claims as well as claims against third parties, such as equipment manufacturers, general contractors, and property owners.
If you are injured as a result of medical malpractice, keep any records provided to you by the doctor, hospital, etc. Invoices, insurance coverage documents and similar materials also can be helpful. If you are the victim of negligent prescriptions, keep track of the pharmacy or pharmacies where the prescriptions were filled.
If you suffered losses as a result of legal malpractice, keep copies of your agreement with the attorney, as well as all documents provided to you about your case or transaction. If you have phone or email records that show communications with your attorney, avoid erasing or deleting them.
Documenting an Injury
Insurance companies and defendants will attempt to use the legal system to delay trials and arbitrations for months. Memories fade and details can be forgotten. People particularly have a tendency to lose memories that are painful or unpleasant. It can be very important to create a record of the impact an injury has on your life, as it happens. If you are in an accident, do not forget the importance of pictures of your damaged car, truck or motorcycle. Once the vehicle is totaled, you may not see it again, and will be forced to rely upon someone else’s pictures, if any exist at all. If possible, return to the site, or have a companion do so, and take pictures of the way it looked at the time of the accident. Roads are widened, signs are moved, weeds are cut and conditions can change with the seasons. How the site looked at the time of the accident may prove critical to your ability to recover. And if you cannot prove how it looked, you might not be able to prove your case.
The same goes for your injuries. If you are bruised or cut in an accident, take pictures as soon as possible after the accident occurs. Rashes, bruises and cuts typically heal, and if there is no record of them, a jury may be skeptical about awarding damages for those injuries. Similarly, if your injury leaves you with difficulty walking or handling objects, a videotape can graphically show the limitations in range of motion or dexterity. In extreme cases, such as birth defects or brain or spinal cord injury, we work with videographers to prepare a “day in the life” video. This shows exactly how difficult it is for the person simply to manage daily tasks to make it through the day.
Many injured persons benefit from keeping a log or diary of when the injury affects normal activities. This is particularly helpful if an injury prevents the person from sleeping, going to work, or enjoying recreational activities. If your injury requires you to see a health care provider, keep track of the time spent driving to and from appointments, and the activities given up. If an injury prevents you from eating or otherwise causes you to lose or gain significant amounts of weight, a daily weight record can show the progress of the condition and the length of time to recovery.
If the injury requires treatment, it can be very helpful if the health care provider can provide copies of the records in your file. This can assist in the evaluation of the best way to proceed with your claim, and may save significant records search and copy costs later on. Always keep any billing information or invoice from any health care provider. This both gives a record of your care and shows how much you (or your health insurance company) spent on your recovery.
Statements & Releases
An insurance company may wish to take your statement immediately after an accident. Some adjusters have been known to visit severely injured people in the hospital in search of a statement. In most cases, the injured person receives no benefit by giving a recorded statement or signing a statement prepared by the insurer. In cases of serious injuries, even talking to the adjuster may pose problems when pursuing a claim later on. Obviously, if the case involves only property damage and no personal injury, dealing directly with an adjuster can be the most direct way to resolve the claim. But even if the injury at first appears minor, waiting to talk with an adjuster is the wisest course.
Many insurance companies ask injured people to sign a release of medical records. These records are protected by state and federal law. The insurance company releases may be extremely broad, and allow disclosure not just of records related to an injury, but all medical history, including childhood conditions, sensitive personal information disclosed to a doctor, and private treatment records. Any injured person is well advised to seek legal advice before signing any release of medical records.
You are even more strongly advised against signing a release prepared by an insurance company without first checking with an attorney. A release typically limits your ability to sue the person insured. Sometimes, however, the release may be so broadly drafted that it releases all potentially liable parties. The best course is to seek legal advice before signing a release. If you sign a release, legal advice may not do you any good. Your claim may be dead. Again, check with an attorney at Clausen Law Firm or your legal advisor for advice about a given claim or release.
Consider the Source
A related article discusses when and whether to involve an attorney in a personal injury claim. Some insurance adjusters are trained to “act like your friend,” when you are injured, to gain your trust and confidence. One insurance company, Allstate, went as far as to train its adjusters to discourage people from seeking legal advice. Mark Clausen wrote a brief for our Supreme Court on behalf of the Washington State Bar Association when Allstate was challenged over this practice. You can read the WSBA’s brief in Jones v. Allstate, by clicking on the link below.
The fact is that the adjuster’s job is to reduce as much as possible the amount an insurance company pays for your injuries. Insurers have found that, if their representatives are sympathetic, people are more likely to settle for less. The adjuster’s assistance is undertaken with that objective in mind. Do not be fooled. The adjuster or representative is not considering your best interests. His or her paramount concern is to protect the insurance company and limit the amount you recover.
Watch What You Say
If you are in an accident, chances are your ability to think calmly and rationally will be reduced. Further, you may not have all of the facts about how the accident happened. You may think the accident was your fault, when, in fact, it was not. Do not admit an accident was your fault. Limit your contact with the other party. Do not call to complain to the other party or his/her insurance company, or to discuss the details of what happened. The better course is to keep your own counsel, and talk only with companions or your legal advisor.
About Traffic Tickets
Many people injured in an accident receive a traffic ticket. If you do, seeking legal advice becomes more important. Your best course might be to defend against the ticket. Or it may be in your best interest simply to pay the fine and rely upon your attorney to keep the ticket from being admitted in subsequent proceedings. Pleading guilty to the ticket, however, is likely to severely damage your ability to pursue a claim later, since the guilty plea may be used against you in a later civil action.