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INFORMATION TO BE AWARE OF WHEN YOU’VE BEEN IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT OR HAVE OTHERWISE SUFFERED A BODILY INJURY.
Every personal injury case is different, but there are certain general concepts which people should keep in mind when they’ve been involved in an automobile accident or other personal injury. Because every situation is different, you should consult with an attorney regarding your individual situation. The advice may vary with different facts in different situations. However, the following is generally worth consideration:
1. If you’ve been in an automobile accident or other personal injury for which you think may be entitled compensation, you should consult with an attorney. The insurance companies own statistics show that people represented by an attorney receive on average approximately seven times the recovery of someone not represented by an attorney.
2. An investigation and evaluation of your claim should occur as soon after the accident or incident as possible. Witnesses should be interviewed while memories are fresh. Evidence has a way of disappearing if it is not handled properly and retained.
3. Please do not discuss the details of your accident with anyone other than the members of your immediate family. Anything you say to other persons could be interpreted by them in many different ways. Anyone who seeks to obtain information from you may represent the insurance company for the other side. Any information you disclose may harm or jeopardize your claim. Tell anyone who tries to get information from you that you have been advised by your attorney not to talk about the claim.
4. It is vitally important that you continue to treat regularly with your doctor and until you have recovered as much as possible or you have been referred to another doctor, perhaps a specialist. When you go to the doctor you also have to clearly state what is troubling you, including any pain complaints. You should not exaggerate your complaints in any way, just tell it like it is. We have seen many, many cases where an otherwise legitimate injury claim was compromised due to a lack of treatment or a failure of the patient to clearly state their problems to the doctor. Insurance companies always take the position that if patients don’t treat or the problem doesn’t appear in the medical records, it simply doesn’t exist. Again, don’t exaggerate, just tell the truth.
5. Please maintain a file folder where you can keep all information you receive concerning your claim.
6. Keep copies of everything you receive or send to anyone regarding your claim.
7. Please do not discard the containers of any drugs prescribed by your doctors. This may well be helpful later on in your case. Keep a list of nonprescription drugs (i.e., aspirin, Advil, etc.) heating pads, and all expenses that could possibly be related to your claim. Please also keep a careful list of all mileage and/or other transportation expenses related to your medical care.
8. Please faithfully follow the advice of your physicians. Aside from the fact that this will bring about your recovery, it will also prevent the other party's insurance company from claiming that some of your medical problems were caused by your failure to follow your physician's orders. It will also help us in proving that you, in fact, have been injured, and to what extent you have been injured.
9. Unfortunately, accident claims often seem to move slowly. We wish it were not that way, but until you have fully recovered from your injuries, or have otherwise stabilized medically, it is unwise to attempt to settle your claim. For that reason, it may be necessary for you to be very patient while waiting for us to get the best possible settlement for you. Claims should not be settled prematurely. Once the claim is settled, it is over and done.
10. In some cases, we are able to settle accident claims through negotiation (without lawsuits). In other cases, however, the insurance company disagrees with us and you regarding the value of your claim. In these situations it is necessary to file a lawsuit to force the insurance company to make a better offer.
11. You should be very aware of the concept of the statute of limitations. A statute of limitations means that if a claim is not timely filed in the proper court within the period of the statute of limitations, it is no longer a valid claim and is lost forever. The normal statute for personal injuries in the state of Wisconsin is three years. However, that can vary with the type of case and can also be dependent upon whether or not the injured person was a minor at the time that they were injured.
12. Time deadlines for filing claims are further complicated by Section 893.80 and 893.82 of the Wisconsin statutes. These are special notice of claims and notice of circumstances of claims statutes that apply to claims against the county, state, and other units of government. In some instances, these statutes also have the effect of capping or limiting the amount of any claim you might make. For such notice of claims of statutes, the time limits are much shorter(120 days). If you don’t do certain things within those 120 days, your claim could be lost even though you are nowhere near the statute of limitations time deadline.
As stated above, the information on this website is all general information. You should consult an attorney for your specific situation. This Law Firm generally does not have free initial consultations for clients. However, in personal injury cases and other cases that are handled on a contingent fee basis, there is a free initial consultation. Generally, in personal injury cases, if we take your case on a contingent fee and don’t recover a settlement or judgment agreeable to you, you pay us no attorney fee for our time in pursuing the matter.