Handling Your Own Automobile Accident Case
If you are trying to handle your own personal injury auto accident case without a lawyer, we think you are making a mistake proceeding without an experienced personal injury lawyer, much less not having any lawyer at all. We explain in great detail the reasons why it is typically a bad idea in the vast majority of cases here. But we also know some people are going to proceed without a personal injury lawyer. When you do so, and damage all or part of your case, you decrease the overall value of personal injury cases for all clients, including ours. So we offer here some advice on how to proceed if you do choose to tackle your case on your own. Obviously, this should not be construed as legal advice to you, but rather just some things to consider if you are trying to handle your own personal injury car accident case.
Get Your Own Pictures
Preserve photos of your vehicle, any visible injuries that you have, and the scene of the accident. This is critical to establishing liability and the scope of your injuries.
Get the Medical Treatment That You Need
Some people ask their lawyer how much medical treatment they should receive. It is a good question. The answer is that you should listen to your body and listen to your health care providers. If you do that, you will get yourself as healthy as possible as quickly as possible while doing the best thing for your case. There are people that receive more treatment than they need, thinking that they are creating value for their case. Sometimes they are. But in the vast majority of cases, they are not increasing the value of their case -- only the medical bills they are required to pay back. These people are also, coincidentally, taking up the time of a doctor or other health care provider who could be using that time to treat someone who really needs help.
Do Not Give a Recorded Statement or Allow the Insurance Company’s Doctor to Give You a Medical Exam
Most adjusters tell injury victims that to process their claim, they need to give a recorded statement and have their doctor evaluate you. It is nonsense. Recorded statements and insurance company medical exams (which they will call an “independent medical exam”) have one purpose: to provide cross-examination material against you in settlement negotiations and against you if your case goes to trial. You have enough disadvantages representing yourself without giving them another arrow in their quiver. Do not give the insurance adjuster ammunition you do not need to give.
If it is an uninsured or underinsured motorist case, the appropriate course without an attorney is less clear. Some insurance contracts require you to do a medical exam and a recorded statement, although some jurisdictions have laws that override this contract language. Without a lawyer, you are left with the choice of either harming your case on the one hand, or possibly voiding your coverage on the other. This is one of those cases where you might want to get a competent personal injury lawyer on the phone and try to get a little free advice because this is one of those things that can really destroy your case.
Figure Out What the Statute of Limitations on Your Case Is
Either call a local lawyer, or at least use Google to try to figure out what the statute of limitations is in your case. Without having a lawyer review your case, you are taking a risk on this because there are general statute of limitations and sometimes more specific statutes in some jurisdictions. For example, in many states, a claim brought against a governmental agency has a statute of limitations that is a small fraction of the general statue of limitations. But if you are going to proceed on your own, you need to do anything you can to be certain what the statute of limitations is. In most cases, you will be fine without a full analysis, but obviously, you are running a real risk on this one.
Tell Your Health Care Providers What They Need to Know But Only Just That
You need to be honest with your health care providers about any questions they ask you about your medical history or your current injuries. But you also have to remember that everything you say ends up in your medical records. So if you hurt your back five years ago lifting weights, you may want to leave out the part about it being in prison while you were serving a sentence for armed robbery.
Don’t Lie to Anyone
Most of our lawyers used to handle cases for insurance companies. The big mistake we saw people make time and time again is that they shade the truth or flat out lie, thinking that no one will ever know. Who could possible know that I hurt my back 8 years ago in an accident in Florence, Arizona? The insurance company - that is who. It is counterintuitive for some but the best way to maximize the value of your case is to be completely truthful to everyone at all times. This does not mean offering information that you do not need to provide. But it does mean that you should not tell anyone anything or put it in writing unless it is 100% accurate.
Do Not Sign a Medical Authorization or Provide Prior Medical Records
Insurance claims adjusters will tell you that you can just get medical treatment and they will collect your medical bills and records for you. This is a bad idea. Collect your own bills and records and forward them to the insurance company yourself.
Demand Letter to the Insuarnce Company.
Get all of your medical bills and records, documentation of your lost wages, and anything else you need, and send them to the insurance company. Provide them in an indexed package that chronologically orders the records. The problem of proceeding without a lawyer is that you have no idea what the value of your case is. Accordingly, and this is a judgment call, you may want to consider just sending in the bills and records without making a demand. Let them go first and make you an offer. Click here for a sample demand letter.
How much should I demand?
The short answer is that we have no idea. The value of a personal injury case is based on scores of variables and you really can’t know the true value of your case because you lack the necessary experience. Unless you have seen hundreds of personal injury cases and have seen how judges and juries respond to similar facts and injuries, you really have no clue as to the value. But as long as you understand this is the risk you take without a seasoned personal injury lawyer, you have to figure out what you think is reasonable and pick a figure that is higher than that number, but no so high as to tell the insurance company that you are unreasonable or have no clue what you are doing. This is awfully tricky if you do not handle personal injury cases everyday.
Again, we do not recommend proceeding without a lawyer in the vast majority of cases. There are just too many landmines. But if you are going to go it alone on your accident case, many of these tips should serve you well in most cases. Good luck!
See Why You Should Hire a Lawyer in the Vast Majority of Personal Injury Cases
See Valuing Personal Injury Cases (explanation of how auto accident cases are valued)
See Sample Demand Letter (example of a demand letter)
See Sample Demand Letter #2 (another example demand letter)
See Personal Injury Victim Help Center (information for injury victims about the process)
See Personal Injury Lawyer Help Center (tools for personal injury lawyers)
