How to wreck your injury case

I previous blogged about things NOT to do during your divorce.  It has turned out to be one of the more popular subjects on my blog based on 200K+ page views.  Now that you know how to better survive a divorce, lets talk about things you shouldn’t do if you have an injury case.  These are in no particular order of importance.

DO NOT!:

1.  Lie to your lawyer or withhold evidence.

2.  Fail to notify your lawyer that you are preparing to file bankruptcy or file bankruptcy without telling your injury lawyer.

3.  Destroy evidence.

4.  Speak with an insurance adjuster before speaking with your lawyer.

5.  Delay medical treatment.

6.  Disregard your attorney’s advice.

7.  Talk to your doctor about your legal case.

8.  Talk to anyone other than your lawyer about your case.

9.  Take actions/perform activities you claim you cant do.

10.  Make a wage loss claim if you don’t want to open up your finances to scrutiny.

11.  Claim any element of damages you cannot back up.

12.  Fail to obtain information about your injury as soon as possible.

13.  Fail to keep a diary about the incident for your attorney.  Write down everything you think is important.

14.  Admit fault.

15.  Post about your injury or case to social media sites.

16.  Enter into a quick settlement agreement with an insurance company over the phone.

17.  Fail to repay Medicare, Medicaid or an ERISA plan for medical care they paid on your behalf resulting from the negligence of a third party.

There are other things for a plaintiff to avoid while pursuing a legal case, but these were fresh on my mind from mistakes made by potential clients in the not too distant past.