After you’ve been in a car accident, you will be forced to make many decisions that you are unfamiliar with. Hiring an experienced auto accident attorney will certainly help with handling the insurance adjusters and healthcare providers; however, even when you hire an attorney, the truth is you still play a large role in the success of your car accident claim. Hands down, the number one rule in when you hire an attorney is to be truthful with your lawyer about everything. The easiest way to ruin your claim is for the insurance company to catch you in a lie. Beyond that, there are several other ways you play an important role in your auto accident claim.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
The number one responsibility for you after hiring an attorney is to get the medical treatment you need. If you doctor refers you for treatment, make sure you attend all appointments and continue treating until you are fully released. You also need to keep your attorney informed with the status of your medical treatment as it proceeds. It’s generally a good practice to contact your attorney after each doctor’s appointment and keep your attorney informed of your medical treatment and status at every step of the case. Your car accident claim revolves around your medical treatment so it is important that you get the treatment you need and the treatment you are referred. Being “noncompliant” with medical treatment can certainly have a negative impact on your claim. This will also help your attorney make important decisions that need to be made along the way such as getting independent medical evaluations or hiring other expert witnesses.
Gathering and Communicating Information
Even though you hire an attorney to handle your car accident case, you will still have to communicate and work with your attorney to great extent. There will be much needed information you will have to gather and relay to your attorney such as accident reports and medical releases. Also, you will have to communicate with your lawyer about various aspects of the case at it proceeds through litigation. You will likely have to schedule meetings at certain points in your case to meet with your lawyer and discuss upcoming events. For example, if and when you are subpoenaed to provide a deposition, you will have to meet with your attorney prior to the deposition so they can explain the process and let you know what to expect during the deposition. There are several various occasions when you will need to meet with your attorney about things to make sure you are both working together and are on the same page to move your claim towards resolution.
Don’t Talk About Your Case
Talking about your case with anyone can potentially have a devastating impact on your car accident claim. When an attorney represents you, you certainly should not communicate with any insurance adjusters. In fact, they are not permitted to contact a represented individual and are advised to speak directly with your attorney. Even beyond adjusters, talking with anyone about your case can have a negative impact on the outcome. If, by chance, you discuss something with someone that may be different than something you have testified to or represented to the insurance company, that person can potentially be called as a witness and that information could be used for impeachment purposes. Likewise, posting things on social media that is not in accordance with the information you have represented to your attorney or the insurance company can also be presented at trial to impeach you and have a demoralizing impact on your claim.
Hire An Attorney You Can Work Well With
As you can see, it is important that you hire an attorney that you can see yourself working well with. If you want the most compensation out of your car accident claim, you will still have to work with your attorney and communicate with them along the way. Therefore, it is important that you hire someone who communicates well with you and whom you trust has your best interest in mind. At the Law Office of Jared C. Williams, LLC, we always make it our top priority to communicate well with our clients about their claim. If you are looking to hire an auto accident attorney in Charleston, SC, we encourage you to contact our office, speak with us about your claim and get to know us a little bit to see if we might be a good fit to help you with your claim.