Stage 4 of 10: Personal Injury Case Development

Tips on Helping Your Personal Injury Attorney Win Your Case

This article is Part 4 of The 10 Critical Stages of a Personal Injury Lawsuit.

Your personal injury attorney may continue to actively develop your personal injury case throughout its remaining pre-trial stages and even during trial. In this process, you and your personal injury attorney will play separate but complementary roles, both very important, when it comes to collecting the facts, evidence, witnesses, and anything else necessary to establish the Defendant's legal liability and the amount of your resulting losses. If your case is not settled quickly up-front, and a personal injury lawsuit is filed, case development will occur in even greater detail during the "discovery" phase of the lawsuit.

Continue writing and taking photographs for your personal injury journal. To develop your case, your personal injury attorney will use the photographs, witness information, accident reports, and your story as a framework, working to fill in the details of your accident and its results. A personal injury attorney may collect additional documentary evidence, like accident reports, medical treatment records, and medical bills; interview witnesses, police officers, and physicians who treated your injuries; and even consult with independent experts. Your personal injury attorney will also develop your case, by submitting evidence to attorneys for the party at fault or to insurance companies, bolstering your claim for liability, in preparation for making a settlement demand.

Personal Injury Case Development - Your Role

To assist your personal injury attorney, you may be required to sign various documents, like medical releases or insurance forms. You may need to submit to additional medical examinations or give taped statements about the accident and your injuries. Your personal injury attorney may ask you to assist in other ways, as well, depending on the nature of your case and what is necessary to develop it. There are two rules to stick with, at this stage:

• Tip 1: Do your utmost to cooperate with your personal injury attorney. People sometimes grow frustrated with the time involved in putting together a personal injury case or begin to balk at all the necessary tasks, expecting faster or easier results. Cooperation can help get you a higher damage award. Return signed documents quickly and show up for appointments with independent experts, like physicians.
• Tip 2: Avoid taking action without advice from your attorney. If you are represented by a personal injury attorney, no one from the other side should ever contact you directly; that being said, it happens. Third parties may also ask you for information. Refer them to your personal injury attorney.

Note: Proceedings in other courts can affect your case, too. This is common in auto accident cases. For example, assume that you were cited on Monday for having a taillight out. On Tuesday, a drunk driver coming behind you sideswiped another car, went into a spin, and slammed into the rear of your vehicle. Obviously, your taillight didn't cause this rear-end collision, but you if you plead guilty to the taillight violation, thinking there's just a fine to pay, you may cost yourself a personal injury recovery. Ask your personal injury attorney before you do anything that might relate to the accident.

All content on Accidents.com is for informational purposes only and is NOT intended as legal or medical advice. Please seek advice from a professional on any related topics.

Tags:  Personal Injury Attorney · Personal Injury Claim Preparation · Personal Injury Lawsuit