After being injured in an accident that wasn't your fault, you might be ready to team up with a personal injury lawyer to fight for your rights. Although you might assume that your lawyer is primarily responsible for your success or failure in the courtroom, your own actions play a big role during your case. Here are two things that will complicate your personal injury lawsuit, and how you can avoid causing trouble.
1: Waiting To File
One of the most common and largest mistakes that people make after enduring a troubling accident is waiting to file suit. It can be hard to think about filing a lawsuit against your employer or that kind, elderly man who hit you with their car, but procrastinating can only make things more difficult later. Here are a few things that can be lost if you decide to hold off:
- Witness Accounts: Those witnesses who saw your accident happen might not be as useful later. People forget key details over time, which could make your case cloudy and hard to prove. However, working with a lawyer immediately will help your legal team to collect crucial information so that you can be successful in court.
- Accident Scenes: After an accident, environments tend to change, which could alter your personal injury case. For example, if you were injured at work because you fell off of an overhead storage area without a railing, your employer might finally foot the bill to put one up. Cities might invest in extra stop signs or change the way traffic patterns ensue. To show the current status of the environment where you were injured, always file as soon as possible.
- Timeline: The dates and times involving your accident are crucial to proving your case. If you forget who you were with, the time of day the accident happened, or where you were going afterwards, it can complicate your case. However, talking with a lawyer sooner rather than later can help you to document the timeline before you forget.
Because lawsuits can be difficult to prove after a while, each state has their own statute of limitation for when you are allowed to file. Depending on where you live, you might have between one and six years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit. However, if you wait until this deadline has passed, you might be out of luck.
2: Over-Sharing On Social Media
It isn't always fun to explain your situation repeatedly to friends, family members, and coworkers. To simplify things, many people choose to use social media to post details of their lives following their accidents. Unfortunately, over-sharing on social media can dramatically impact your personal injury lawsuit.
Believe it or not, other lawyers can use images and statements from social media to prove things about your case. For example, if you were involved in a bad car accident that wasn't your fault and you are suing another driver or your insurance company, that silly post about your last ticket might cause problems. If you were involved in an accident at work, but you have a longstanding history of hating your employer, filing a lawsuit might just look like an excuse to milk the system.
To avoid trouble, stay away from social media after you are involved in an accident. Never post pictures of your injuries or talk about how you are feeling. Don't address legal matters or ask people for advice. It might seem silly to stay away from your online wall, but you never know who else is watching.
Making sound decisions during your personal injury lawsuit can keep your case on track, so that your lawyer can focus on getting more info on what matters- recouping your losses so that you can heal.
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