How to Increase Your Chance to Win an Injury Case in New Jersey
You could have a right to compensation after an injury caused by a negligent person or entity. However, having a right doesn’t always mean you will recover compensation or get what you deserve because it’s not all about winning compensation but also about getting what your damages are worth.
How you handle your case from the get-go significantly impacts the outcomes of your claim. This guide offers tips on improving your chances of winning a case and can be an excellent read for learning the basics.
Seek Medical Attention
It’s almost impossible to recover a personal injury claim if you do not have any medical documentation or have never sought treatment for your injuries. The defense will use the lack of medical documentation to claim your injuries weren’t as bad and thus don’t warrant compensation. Waiting to get medical attention can also cause problems because it creates treatment gaps, and the defense can dispute the relationship between injuries and the accident.
Ideally, medical attention should start at the scene when the paramedics arrive. So call 911 even when you may not have any apparent injuries. Your 911 call and the medical documentation produced at the scene help place you at the scene and link your injuries to the accident.
Every follow-up medical treatment generates a paper trail, which you will later rely on for damage valuation and proving harm.
Document Everything
You do not have to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt, but you need sufficient evidence to win your case. Evidence gathering should start at the scene of an accident or the moment you have discovered an injury. For example, in a car accident, you could be attracted by taking pictures, recording video, and talking to witnesses while at the scene.
Other pieces of evidence to gather and preserve can include your journal, medical records, police records, correspondence with the at-fault party, etc. Your lawyer can also help you access evidence requiring specific legal procedures to obtain and preserve.
Avoid Social Media
“When you suffer injuries due to another person’s negligence, it may not be a good idea to post it on social media. Your intentions may be innocent, but the opposing side will be on the prowl for anything they can use against you, and your innocent blunders could be misconstrued into something that you never intended to say,” says New Jersey personal injury lawyer Andrew Statmore of Fredson Statmore Bitterman.
For example, you could post a message telling your followers and friends that you are fine or that it’s nothing much with the hope of calming their fears, but not to mean you didn’t suffer significant injuries. However, the defense can use such a statement to show inconsistencies in your statements, which can severely blow your case. So stay off social media or follow your legal team’s advice to approach it.
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Get a Lawyer
A lot goes into building a case, starting with proving negligence, critical evidence gathering, and talking to and soliciting the help of witnesses. Only a personal injury lawyer can do an excellent job in these areas.
Besides their knowledge, lawyers command respect from the opposing side. This means they will approach the table with relatively better offers, understanding that you have someone looking out for you.
The opposing side may want to convince you not to hire a lawyer, but that’s a trap, so do not fall for it. Also, avoid divulging too much information to them. Instead, please direct them to your lawyer to prevent slip-ups that could ruin your case.
