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Three Mistakes That Can Reduce The Value Of Your Injury Case

7/18/2017

 
injury case mistakes

​Here are three of the most common mistakes that injured persons make after the accident that can substantially reduce or even jeopardize the value of their personal injury case:
​
1. Waiting for too long to treat after your injury incident. Few things cast more doubt on the severity of your injuries in the eyes of the insurance companies / opposing counsel than large gaps in treatment. This makes sense. After all, the other side is only entitled to doubt how much pain you are suffering from if you were not eager to get help soon after sustaining the injury or if you didn’t treat consistently. Thus, it’s not a good idea to be “tough” after serious accident and decline ambulance services and emergency room treatment if you experience pain.

2. Telling the insurance company adjuster that you weren’t seriously injured. It is almost always the case that the person who is injured in an accident does not experience pain immediately after the impact due to adrenaline rush and other factors. Much of the pain and discomfort in neck, back and other parts of the body appears 24 hour after the accident or even later. Some of the serious symptoms are not noticed until several days after the incident or even longer.

Thus, you should not rush to inform your insurance company about what your exact injuries were shortly after the accident because you might just not know it. You are much better of generally describing the pain that you are experiencing and reminding the adjuster that you are not sure what your injuries are as you didn’t undergo a full medical evaluation yet. The claim adjuster might be pressuring you into describing your injuries and pinning you down to your words, so that later it will be harder for you to add new facts or new symptoms. However, you should not give in to that often unethical pressure. There is nothing wrong with answering the “what hurts?” questions with “I don’t know yet” or “I am not sure.”

3. Exaggerating or lying to your attorney. I met clients who would hide the fact that they had prior injuries and accidents until the other side found out about their medical past and used it to weaken our case in a way that they wouldn't be able to otherwise. I have been sent video tapes that captured my client working at a physically demanding job while claiming that he was severally injured, unable to perform any work and was unemployed.

You can be sure that it will be an uncomfortable situation for a lawyer to find out a certain fact about his client from the opposing counsel, and in most cases it’s actually an embarrassing discovery that can significantly reduce the values of the injury case, casting serious doubt on the injured person’s credibility, honesty and ability to make the right impression on the judge / jury at trial. This is why one of the golden deposition and trial testimony rules is this: if you don’t remember something you are asked about, simply say so: “I don’t remember.”  This type of answer is much better than providing incorrect information, whether you do it innocently or on purpose. 


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Law Office of Arkady Itkin - San Francisco & Sacramento Injury and Employment Lawyer
We represent employees and employers in employment and wrongful termination cases, as well as victims of serious injuries in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo and throughout Northern California. We all represent businesses and start-ups in a wide range of business and employment issues and disputes. 


57 Post Street, Suite 812, San Francisco, CA 94104; Tel. (415) 295-4730; Fax. (415) 508-3474; [email protected]
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  • Home
  • Employment Law
    • Wrongful Termination >
      • At-Will Employment
      • Termination After Unfair Warnings and Write-Ups
      • Union Grievance, Workers Comp and Wrongful Termination
      • Labor Code 970 Claims
      • Promissory Estoppel and Employment Contracts
      • Implied Contract Claims
    • Discrimination >
      • Proving Discrimination
      • Age Discrimination
      • Disability Discrimination >
        • Protected Disabilities
        • Medical Leave / Disability Accommodations
        • Job Reassignment As A Disability Accommodation
        • SSI Disability Benefits and Your Court Case
        • Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Sample Discrimination Complaint
      • DFEH and EEOC Investigations
    • Retaliation >
      • How to Prove Retaliation
      • Dealing with Retaliation While Still Employed
      • Retaliation for Complaining
      • Whistleblower Retaliation
    • Harassment
    • Defamation at Workplace
    • Prof. License Defense
    • Leaves of Absence >
      • Medical Leave as Reasonable Accommodation
      • FMLA Entitlement and Reinstatement to Work
      • CFRA Leave
      • Employers' FMLA Notice Obligations
      • Paternity Leave (FMLA)
      • Sample FMLA Leave Request
    • Wages / Overtime Claims >
      • Wage Claims
      • Employee or Contractor
      • Exempt / Non-Exempt >
        • Admistrative Exemption
        • IT Support Specialists Compensation
        • Computer Professional Exemption from Overtime
        • Recruiters / Account Executives Exemption
        • Complaining About Being Misclassified
      • Vacation Pay / PTO
      • On-Call Time Compensation
      • Deductions fr. Commissions
    • Unempl. Benefits Appeals >
      • Tips for EDD Phone Interview
      • Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing Representation
      • CUIAB Hearing Tips
    • Employment Law Blog
    • For Employers
  • Personal Injury
    • Five Tips For Injury Cases
    • Slip-and-Fall Injuries
    • Assault and Battery
    • Recorded Statements
    • Repairing Your Vehicle
    • Unpaid Medical Bills
    • Injury Law Blog
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Police Excessive Force
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Results
  • Submit Case
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Consultations
    • Workplace Rights Checklist
    • Deposition Tips
    • Mediation Tips
    • Effective Mediator
    • Suing Current Employer
    • Severance Agreements
    • Workplace Investigation
    • Arbitration
    • Statutes of Limitations
    • Healthy Litigation Mindset
    • Trial Tips
    • Working Remotely
    • How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your Case