13 Reasons Why You Lost Your Personal Injury Case
The percentage of civil cases resolved by jury trial has decreased from about 5.5% in 1962 to 0.8% by 2013. About 95% of cases settle.
Personal injuries can happen anywhere at any time. A victim may obtain compensation by filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party. You may be eligible for recovering lost wages, medical bills, property damage, and more. However, you may run into a few traps along the way.
Quite often, people lose the case or settle on less than acceptable terms. Cases get closed by unfortunate mistakes by the parties involved. There might be several mistakes people make in their personal injury lawsuit that hurt or prevents them from recovering. Here are 13 reasons why you may lose your personal injury case:
1. You Represented Yourself
Personal injury cases are complex. They rapidly change and may be difficult to obtain full compensation without prior experience. By representing yourself, you might overlook critical nuances. However, an experienced attorney will ensure that your case is handled best.
2. Your Statute of Limitations Ran
You have a firm deadline to file a lawsuit in court. If you fail to file and the deadline runs, you may have waived your right to file the case. In Nevada, you have 2 years to file your case. These are called the statute of limitations. If the deadline passes before filing suit, then you likely lost your case before you were able to start.
3. You Were at Fault
In personal injury cases, both parties may be at fault. When you are at fault, you have a lower chance of winning. In cases where you are more responsible than the other party, you may lose your entire personal injury suit.
4. You Did Not Have Sufficient Evidence
You have the burden of proof in your personal injury case. Your case must be probable not just possible. To prove your case, you will need evidence to support your lawsuit. Such evidence may consist of photographs, incident reports, medical reports, police reports, receipts, surveillance footage, etc. However, if you fail to present such documents as instructed by your attorney, then you may be hurting your case. It is necessary to present persuasive evidence in your personal injury case.
5. You Posted on Social Media
Posting on social media might be tempting, but posting on social media may contradict your entire case. The other party can use your social media posts and pictures against your claim even if you were right. Also, the opposing side or its insurance company may attack your case with your posts. We would recommend you stay off your social media platforms pending a personal injury suit. Do not post anything about your injury or accident.
6. You Forgot the Incident
A lot of time may pass after an accident and your memory forgets critical details. When you finally file suit, you sometimes may find that you have little recollection of what happened. You can no longer give complete details of the incident and it is no longer clear who did what. Photographs that were taken or other evidence at the time may no longer be available. This may present you with a weaker personal injury case.
7. You Provided Inconsistent Statements
Sometimes the victim of a personal injury claim thinks that he must answer every question even if he doesn’t know the answer. The victim then makes inconsistent statements in an effort to sound persuasive.
Oftentimes, you may be better off admitting that you do not know. Inconsistent or wrong statements can create large hurdles in your case. Instead, work with your attorney, learn the relevant aspects of your case, or simply deny answering such comments.
8. Your Mechanism of Harm is Questionable
If your mechanism of harm is difficult to grasp or creates doubt that you were injured, then the jury may give a verdict against you. A jury might find that the injuries were not caused by the actions of the at-fault party based on your theory of how the injury occurred. Therefore, if your mechanism of harm is questionable, you may run into serious challenges throughout your case..
9. You Exaggerated Your Injuries
Sometimes victims think that overstating their case or injuries might be persuasive and obtains sympathy to get compensated higher than expected. However, this is the wrong idea. If you exaggerate the injuries and the jury recognizes your embellishment and questions your mechanism of harm, then you may lose your personal injury case.
10. You Failed to Timely Receive Medical Treatment
Failing to cooperate with a doctor or seek medical help can prove fatal to your case. When you are involved in an accident and you are injured, you should get checked by a medical provider as soon as possible. You will get treated on time and get saved from potential complications if any. Also, the medical provider will typically draft a report of your injuries, which may help provide evidence to meet your burden of proof.
Waiting too long may undermine your injuries and the other party may use the delay as a weapon against you. The other party may argue that your injuries were caused by something other than what you claimed.
11. You Spoke to an Insurance Company or their Lawyer
Insurance companies exist to make a profit. If you contact them before talking to your lawyer, they will find a way to pay you less. They may request medical authorizations to dig into your medical history. They will either deny your claim completely or offer to settle your claim for as little as possible. By requesting a recorded statement, they can obtain soundbites to be used later against you. They may also figure out ways to delay your claim. So, instead of going to insurance companies first, contact your lawyer.
12. You Lied About Your Accident and Injury History
If you lie about your injury or accident history, then you put yourself at risk of losing credibility. While talking to your lawyer, make sure you are not lying and telling the whole issue truthfully for full compensation. You need to be truthful throughout your case. Otherwise, a fact finder may not believe you and may not believe in your injuries.
13. You Failed to Keep Contact and Cooperate with your Personal Injury Lawyer
If your personal injury lawyer is simply unable to contact you, it makes it hard or nearly impossible to represent your best interests. Sometimes there may be an important events that you miss because you failed to keep contact. Sometimes missing these important events will destroy your case. We’d recommend answering your personal injury lawyer’s phone calls and letters as soon as possible.
Why Should You Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
An experienced and trusted personal injury attorney may help you get fully compensated. Hiring a personal injury lawyer will help ensure you minimize all of the factors that may cause you to lose your personal injury case and risk.
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