When you hire an injury attorney, you expect someone who will be a dedicated advocate on your behalf. But in order to make the most of having a good injury attorney on your side, you need to also help them so that they can best serve you.
The following are six ways to help your injury attorney so that they can do the best job possible providing you with advice and giving you needed legal assistance:
- Write down all the details of what happened: You want to be able to give your attorney as detailed an account as possible about the circumstances surrounding your injury. Try not to leave out anything, because sometimes a seemingly insignificant detail could play an important role in determining what exactly happened.
- Keep records and notes about your medical condition/injury: Make sure you’ve documented what your doctor has told you and what treatments you had to undergo (e.g. therapy, physical rehabilitation, psychological therapy). Keep a list of all the prescriptions your doctor has given you (and when and how long you were on each medication). Also, keep track of your symptoms and how they’ve changed with time.
- Use a camera: Take photos of your injury on a regular basis, to document it over time. Also, as soon as possible, take photos of the scene of the accident. If it’s a vehicular accident, be sure to take photos of the damage to your vehicle and to any other vehicles involved.
- Document any expenses related to your injury: These include medical bills, car repair bills, lost wages, and alterations you needed to make to your home or other aspects of your life to accommodate your injury.
- Don’t discuss your case with people: Aside from your attorney, you should greatly limit who you discuss your case with; perhaps only talk about it, when necessary, with trusted people in your immediate family. For sure don’t discuss it with witnesses, random friends and acquaintances, work colleagues and insurance representatives; don’t mention it “anonymously” on the Internet. Your attorney can advise you on how to respond to questions about your case in such a way that you don’t reveal important details.
- Make sure that you and other people involved in the case are easily reachable: Always give your attorney updated contact information for yourself and for anyone else they may need to reach out to, including witnesses to the accident.
When you contact a reputable injury attorney, keep his advice in mind. They’ll be able to work for you more effectively if you can help them.Attorney Dianne Sawaya is licensed to practice law in Colorado and the District of Columbia. Dianne Sawaya has practiced law for nearly 30 years, and has devoted more than half of those years to achieving personal injurysettlements for accident victims. She practices law in Colorado District Courts, U.S. District Courts in Colorado and Washington, D.C., and U.S. Courts of Appeals in Colorado and Washington, D.C. If you are interested in making an appointment, please feel free to contact us.