Some actions help a claimant to obtain good results; others hinder achievement of the desired result.

Helpful actions

Finding a lawyer with experience in the type of accident that caused your injuries, or experience with clients that had an injury similar to yours. Providing your insurance company with notice of the accident’s occurrence, and doing so promptly.

Your personal injury lawyer in Waterdown will collect the relevant evidence, including a copy of the police report. You will need to attacha picture of your damaged vehicle to the demand letter.

Sharing with adjuster the ways that you have been inconvenienced by the losses that you suffered, as a result of the accident. Being ready to appear at a scheduled IME (independent medical exam). Going to a doctor’s office, a hospital emergency room or a medical clinic within the 24 yours that followed the reported accident.

Mistakes that could lengthen time until settlement, or force acceptance of an unfair settlement

• Claimant’s failure to tell the truth
• Not consulting notes and photographs, in order to jog memory, and increase chances for delivery of accurate facts
• Posting pictures or comments about the accident or the prescribed treatment on one or more social media network
• Not taking the time to learn the filing deadline, as given in the information on the statute of limitations
• Not paying attention to the calendar, after learning the deadline for filing a lawsuit (That would include the mistake of failing to buy an up-to-date calendar.)
• Assuming that no one had been injured, because there were no obvious injuries; acting on that assumption, and feeling that there was no reason for anyone to be seen by a physician.
• Telling a witness what to say, when on the witness stand
• Not sharing all of the evidence with the other party, during the discovery session
• Sharing an excess of information with the adjuster
• Hesitating to speak with the examining physician on the day of the accident: The consequences from that error could be quite unpleasant, if the examining doctor had not been at all familiar with the patient’s/victim’s medical history.

Not seeking a way to correct a mistake

–If there was some mix-up in the reporting of facts, arrange for delivery of the proper facts, along with a note that explained the reason for the mix-up
–If there was a problem with the report on the claimant’s wages, check to see if there had been a substitute or a new employee answering incoming calls on the day when the insurance company sought confirmation of the information that had been provided by the claimant.
–If the adjuster had alleged that the claimant was partly to blame, not speaking with an attorney. An attorney’s assistance could help with meeting the adjuster’s challenge.