The Maddox Law Firm, LLC represents people who are seriously injured in Connecticut accidents. We’ve written about this and what “seriously injured” means. Serious injuries involve complicated clinical histories which also involve a complicated and prolonged legal fight over financial compensation.
But, what if you’re not that seriously injured? We frequently tell people who seem to have a positive prognosis for a quick recovery that they may be able to avoid paying one third of their financial recovery to a lawyer.
I know that this sounds counterintuitive. A law firm telling people how not to have to pay a lawyer. But, we’re not just lawyers…we’re human beings too.
With that humanity in mind, here are three things that you need to know so that you can handle your own not-so-serious Connecticut personal injury case yourself.
1) Document absolutely everything. That means your healthcare expenses and any property damage. That includes photographs of your car and any injuries that you may have suffered. It also means finding receipts and keeping receipts for any other costs or losses that you’ve incurred. Be prepared to provide copies to the defendant’s insurer.
2) Put your healthcare first and don’t take any shortcuts. Don’t think that if you go to a hospital and you’re told to see your primary care physician, that you can skip it. And don’t think that if you fail to follow healthcare advice that you’ll still automatically be in line for a check from the defendant’s auto insurer.
3) When you’re ready to try to settle your case, write a letter. Don’t try to do it over the phone. The letter is a serious letter; one that goes into detail about what happened in the accident, how you felt at the accident scene, what took place at the hospital and any other healthcare that you received. And the letter should describe exactly how the accident impacted you and your day-to-day life.
If you’re the victim of a Connecticut accident and your treatment follow-up is relatively simple, you might be able to do it all yourself. But, if what you thought would be a short term recovery becomes longer term or complicated, you may need help. OR, if you find that the defendant’s insurance company is putting a lot of pressure on you to settle, you will want to speak with an experienced law firm about how to handle that situation.
Regardless, we hope that you recover quickly and get back to your normal life and routines. Remember – we’re human beings too – not just lawyers.
