If you have invested the time to contact and hire a personal injury attorney, it can only benefit you to be completely honest and cooperative throughout your working relationship. Failing to do either one of these things may hurt your personal injury case and can result in severely limiting your potential financial recovery.
Be Honest With Your Personal Injury Attorney
Once you file a personal injury claim and begin your case, the party you are filing against will begin to dig into your past. You must be completely honest with your personal injury attorney about everything, whether you believe it to be relevant or not.
Being absolutely honest with your lawyer regarding any inquires they make about your past is essential to building your case. Even if you think this information is embarrassing, please know that your lawyer is bound by a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from ever repeating information you share with them. That being said, there are certain factors that can damage your reputation and will most likely be used to test your credibility in court, such as:
o Past accidents;
o Past injuries;
o Past criminal history;
o Past drug or alcohol abuse.
If you are not honest with your attorney about your past behavior and your attorney is "ambushed" with this information by the opposing side in the middle of a trial, it can ruin your personal injury case.
Cooperate With Your Personal Injury Attorney
This is your P.I. claim, your case, and your recovery. Not cooperating with your personal injury attorney will do nothing but harm your chances of being awarded the compensation you need. There is no reason to sabotage your own case by being uncooperative.
Do not misrepresent your income. You will not be able to recover damages if you distort the amount of your actual income. The insurance adjusters working against you will be able to verify your income quite easily, through such means as your income tax returns. Cooperating with your attorney means helping him or her to file an honest claim.
Make your personal injury attorney aware of every doctor you see following the accident as well as every doctor you have seen in the past. Doctors that you have visited previously will have records of your past health, and these will most likely be uncovered. If you are claiming an injury was the direct result of an accident but past medical records show you already had a history of that ailment, the opposing side could use this information to deny your claim.
Finally, make yourself available to your personal injury lawyer. Don't change your contact information without telling your lawyer, after all; your lawyer cannot help you if they have no way to reach you.
If you have been seriously injured as a result of someone else's negligence in Massachusetts, visit http://www.tomkileylaw.com/swat/index.cfm to learn about your rights and options under the law. Massachusetts personal injury lawyer, Thomas M. Kiley, has been representing individuals against insurance companies since 1976. He was referred to as the "Million Dollar Man" in a featured article by the Boston Herald Sunday Magazine in it's "Personal Best Series." This was based on his record of obtaining million dollar verdicts and settlements in complex cases in which he represented injured victims against insurance companies.
Mr. Kiley is a respected member of numerous professional organizations including the American Association for Justice, the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, and the Massachusetts Bar Association. He has achieved the highest possible rating (AV) for both legal ethics and ability by Martindale-Hubbell, the definitive guide to America's leading lawyers and law firms.
