A Useful Guide To Know The Right Way To Handle A Personal Injury Claim

When you’ve been injured, and the injury has negatively impacted your mental state, finances, physical capabilities, or emotional experience, it can be incredibly difficult to know where to turn and what to do to help reduce the negative repercussions of the incident. Most people know they need to make a personal injury claim at some point, but they don’t know how to go about doing that and are fairly nervous about the legal process since legal jargon is confusing, to say the least. The following will explore a few things you might want to know if you’re looking to handle a personal injury claim.

Understand That There Are Different Types

As with all areas of law, things are slightly more complicated than they first appear (or more complicated than the insurance company would have you believe). In most cases, there are multiple claims processes open to a person who has been injured. What makes things tricky is that you often cannot pursue multiple claims pathways—submitting one type of claim forfeits your ability to submit other types of claims. Before you make your choice, lawyers at https://olsonlawfirm.com/ recommend that you speak to a professional. Insurance companies, workplaces, and businesses tend to encourage a quick response and submission because they don’t want an option that could end up costing them more money sitting on the table. A lawyer will let you know which route will best care for you and your needs post-injury.

Avoid Social Media

No matter what claims process you decide to undergo; it’s a good idea to avoid social media for the time that the claim is open. Anything that you do in the digital public sphere can be found by lawyers, law enforcement, and insurance company employees. This information can then be used against you in a legal proceeding. Sometimes something as innocent as sharing a picture of your cat with a laughing face emoji in the description can be looked at as you not being as injured as you claim to be. It’s best to leave social media alone entirely while your claim is being settled unless specifically directed by an attorney.

Follow Medical Recommendations

Another thing that can slow the process or make you appear to be less injured than you’re claiming is you disregarding medical advice. You need to be able to show that you’re making an effort to heal and recover, and ignoring your doctor’s advice isn’t going to help you make that clear. Even if you’re beginning to feel better, you need to be taking treatment plans seriously as in the healing process, some days are going to be easier than others, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear, and you could be slowing your recovery process. If you have a reason to distrust your doctor’s opinion or are finding the treatment prescribed has some side effects you just can’t stomach, seek out another opinion. Find a doctor that truly listens and helps you.

Save All Receipts And Keep Good Records

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out just how much an injury is costing you. To help with this, it’s a good idea to save all your receipts and keep good records of your experience. Maybe you want to keep a little journal in the notes app on your phone where you write down what you did during the day and how you’re feeling. This can help you get a better grasp of the impact your injury is having. Did you need to get your neighbor to carry your laundry upstairs for you? Do you have a lunch receipt from the six hours you spent waiting at the doctor’s office? Are your work hours suffering? All of this information can help you, and your lawyer understands what claim you need to be making.

Seek Out Support

In addition to all of the organizational things you need to stay on top of, you might find that the process is stressful, and you feel like your honesty or integrity is being questioned. You might feel like your identity is collapsing around you since you’re no longer able to provide for the people you love to the same degree, or your work performance is suffering. It’s completely normal to have a wide range of emotions post-injury, and it’s important that you address them as they arise rather than suppress them. Seek out emotional and mental support from friends or family or a professional if you’re beginning to feel like it’s needed.

The above tips should help you navigate the stressful waters of filing an injury claim. Of course, your lawyer might have recommendations that go beyond what’s on this list. It’s a good idea to take your attorney’s advice seriously and pay careful attention to deadlines.

About Post Author

Pluralist

See author's posts