A SUMMARY OF DO'S AND DON'TS TO REMEMBER

For a complete listing of Do's and Don'ts related to any legal claim, please click here: Do’s and Don'ts.

THE DO'S

• In general, the more information we have, the better. You should put all of the bills, letters, records, police reports, pictures, or insurance policies in a grocery bag and bring them with you. It is better for us to have too much information than not enough.
• If you are not sure something is important, bring it anyway. For instance, we may not know the correct legal name of some company; but, if you have a pay stub with their name on it or a letter from them with their letterhead or a contract that they signed, it may allow us to complete your case more quickly. REMEMBER, bring everything.
• Send your attorney all new bills and correspondence you receive relating to your claim.
• Provide information to your attorney promptly.
• Let your attorney know how to contact you. Advise your attorney of changes of address or employment, new phone numbers or emergency contact information.
• Contact your attorney promptly in the event of new developments. Let your attorney know about changes in your treatment status, additional diagnoses, new doctors, hospitalizations, tests performed, witnesses you have found, etc.
• Keep a record of your losses. Maintain copies of pay slips, vouchers and other wage information, as well as disability notes and return to duty notes. Save all receipts for expenses of any sort incurred as a result of your claim.
• Keep a journal. Maintain a written chronological record, which describes your pain, tells how your injuries affect your life and your family, and documents physical and emotional problems you experience from your injuries.
• Follow your doctor's advice. Do not cease or alter your treatment course unless instructed to do so by your physician. Do not "self-treat" or "self-refer" to non-mainstream practitioners without consulting with the care provider who has primary responsibility for you.
• Do something about your pain. A person in need of treatment seeks the necessary treatment. A person who does not seek treatment is thought not to need any treatment. If you are suffering, seek help. Few will believe you later on when you try to explain why you hurt, but failed to seek treatment.
• Be honest and truthful about prior injuries and claims. The insurance industry maintains a Central Indexing Bureau, which is a nationwide indexing system, which contains information about prior claims and injuries. If you have asserted a claim at any time in the past, it is probable that the insurance company, which handled your claim, has recorded information about you and your claim or claims in the C.I.B. Your attorney can deal with the impact of a prior claim, if he or she knows about it at the outset of your claim. Failure to make a full and complete disclosure about prior claims will harm your efforts to recover for the present claim.
• Notify your attorney when you are discharged from treatment. Your attorney requests narrative reports from your care providers after you have been discharged from their care. These narrative reports are important for your case. Some care providers do not view their preparation as an important task, causing delays in our ability to present the medical evidence necessary to prove your claim. Your attorney will request this information as soon as you tell him or her that you have been discharged from care.
• Save your evidence. Don't discard your cast, brace or appliances. Keep the shoes you were wearing (for instance) when your slip and fall injury occurred. Preserve soiled clothing showing a foreign fluid on the floor caused your fall. If you have photos, give your attorney a complete copy or the negatives.
• If your claim is a result of an automobile accident, report this accident to your insurance company immediately. Your claim for benefits will not be processed until an Application for Benefits has been completed, signed and sent to them. Your attorney will assist you in completing the form and sending it on to your insurance company.
• If you do not own a vehicle or have automobile insurance, advise your attorney immediately, so he or she can determine whether you are entitled to benefits through the insurance policy of a resident family member or the owner of the host vehicle.

Do call the Law Office of Robert A. Ray at 903-593-2020

THE DON'TS

• Do not discuss your case with anyone other than your attorney and your doctors.
• Do not give oral or written statements to anyone. If your own insurance company wants a statement, they can contact your attorney who will tell you when, what and how to give your statement. You have an obligation to cooperate with your own insurance company. They may wish to take a statement from you. Your attorney will assist you and will provide a location where this statement can be taken. A member of your attorney's team will prepare you for the statement and will be present while it is taken.
• The opposing insurance company does not have any right to any statement from you.
• Do not sign anything with respect to your claim until you have first checked with your attorney. You should never sign any document until your attorney has approved the document. Unscrupulous persons could cause you to release any rights and claims, which you might have. Your attorney will review any document, which you are asked to sign to protect your rights.
• Do not stop treatment until your doctor discharges you. If you stop treatment before your doctor feels that you are ready for discharge, the doctor may assume you have stopped because you are completely cured and have no complaints or problems. If you stop treating, it is reasonable for others to assume that you did not feel that the treatment was needed.

DO

Keep all appointments with your doctor.

Ask your attorney about anything you don't understand. Any expenses incurred in the investigation of your case will be charged against your recovery. Feel free to ask about these charges.

Write down things you think might be helpful to your case and let your attorney know about your ideas.

Keep accurate records of your expenses such as prescriptions, etc., and always give these to your attorney.

Cooperate with any investigator working on your behalf, but be sure he is on your side and not working for the insurance company.

A lot of details may hold up the settlement of your case. Practice patience.

Ask your attorney's legal assistant about routine matters.

Keep accurate records of days you work and days you miss because of your injuries.

Wage records and days worked are of utmost importance.

If there was someone within your place of employment designated as a personnel manager, obtain his or her name, address and job title. We may need evidence showing a record of your good work.

When possible, obtain all prescriptions from the same pharmacy. It's much easier to keep records this way.

Give advance notice if you are unable to keep any appointments - either with your attorney or your doctor.

Be sure to tell your doctor about any injuries or conditions which you have previously had. This might be very important.

Let your doctor know about any differences you have in your physical condition since your injury and let him decide whether it is connected with your injury or not.

Please let your attorney know if you are unhappy with the way your case is being handled or if you have any suggestions, which might be beneficial for clients. He will appreciate your interest.

Write down the names and addresses of all possible witnesses to your case and give them to your attorney.

DON'T

Don't fall prey to amateur legal advice from well-meaning people. Your attorney is the expert.

Don't change doctors without consulting your attorney.

Try not to get unduly upset with your attorney if you are unable to contact him immediately. Remember that he has a demanding schedule to fill. He will remember your patience and understanding.

Don't fail to tell your attorney anything - good or bad - which might be connected with your case. He needs to know everything.

Don't keep any medical information or symptoms from your doctor.

Don't forget that the insurance claims adjuster assigned to your case will have a vast amount of information about you, both professional and personal, and it is imperative that your attorney know all there is to know about you too.

Don't worry about it when your neighbors and friends tell you that there have been people around asking questions about you. This will more than likely be the insurance company checking your activities.

Don't discuss your case with strangers.

HOW WE HANDLE YOUR CASE

Initially
Your attorney initially must investigate the facts of your case to begin learning whether you have a good, bad or uncertain case. From this point, and until your case is completed, it is essential that your attorney acquire up-to-date medical records on your health. In this respect, you should tell us about all prior injuries and illnesses you may have had and of any additional injuries or illnesses you receive later. The insurance company may contend that your medical condition is bad because of prior or later injuries instead of the injuries in this case, thereby reducing your case's value. (We need to know this.)

Settlement
After learning the facts of your case and of your medical condition, your attorney will, in most cases, contact the insurance company or the person who hurt you. (You should never contact them yourself.) Cases are rarely settled early, but this contact begins the process. Some cases, of course, are never settled; many insurance companies will not settle cases until we have filed suit and are in the courtroom. Some cases are settled after trial and during appeal. Remember, if the insurance company won't settle, there is nothing we can do except file suit and go to trial.

THE TRIAL PROCESS

After filing the suit, the papers must be served on the Defendant. This may take from one day to two months. The Defendant then has approximately three weeks for his lawyer or his insurance company's lawyer to file a written reply.

Interrogatories

You may expect, soon after the Defendant replies, to have to answer written interrogatories. These are written questions, which you must answer. They are usually very long and ask you all about the facts of your case, your injuries, your past medical history, your jobs, your family, your income for the last several years, other lawsuits you may have been in, your driving record, and trouble you may have had with the law. These may be used in court as your testimony. Do not worry, we will help you with these interrogatories.

Depositions

At some point, the Defendant or insurance company will probably take your deposition. This is your testimony about your case. A court reporter will be present and the lawyer for the Defendant will ask you questions just as in court. This usually takes place in one of the lawyer's offices.
This may seem like harassment, but it isn't. We will usually submit interrogatories to them and take their depositions so the inconvenience affects them equally. Your attorney will notify you well in advance and help you with interrogatories and prepare you for your deposition. Remember, your attorney will also be with you when and if your deposition is taken.

The Trial

If it becomes necessary to try your case before a jury, then you will generally need witnesses as follows:
(a) As many people as possible, who saw you get hurt. If no one say you get hurt, then have persons lined up who you told about getting hurt.

(b) Try to line up at least four solid, substantial persons with whom you either worked before getting hurt, or were regularly around you, regardless of which jobs or which employers, who can and will testify that before you got hurt, you were strong, able-bodied worker and did heavy manual labor and were always a good worker.

(c) Also, if these same people have not been around you and observed you since the accident, then line up three or four good solid people who will testify they have been around you and watched you try to work, or, get around since you got hurt, but from their own observations, they could tell you were not able to hold a job, or do manual labor.

If you do improve to such an extent that you can perform certain duties but are unable to perform duties that require stooping, lifting, etc., which cause pain and discomfort, it is very helpful to have two or three people who have worked with you or watched you attempt to work after you were injured, who will later come to Court and be willing to testify that even though you have tried hard in spite of your handicaps, that you are not able to do manual labor and hold down a job because of your handicaps.

The most difficult part of most trials is getting into court. The courts have so many cases that, in most counties, it will take several months before your case is set. In some very large counties, the case may be over a year old before you actually go to trial. Your case will, most likely, be ordered to mediation before it goes to trial. Your attorney will discuss mediation with you.

In trial, it will be necessary that you testify and tell your story. (Remember, from your interrogatories and your deposition, your version is fixed and you cannot change your testimony.) Your witnesses will testify also. Your doctor will probably testify either in person or by his deposition. In many trials, exhibits, such as photographs, scale models, and diagrams will be used. We will need your help in preparing these items.

After we present our evidence, the Defendant can present its evidence to contest your claim or to show you are not hurt as badly as you claim. Following this evidence, the jury or judge renders its decision. Remember, there are two sides to every case. Keep an open mind about their side of the case to help us prove in Court that your side should win.

Appeals

The loser in any case always has the right to appeal to a higher court. There are literally dozens of questions about the facts of the case, the law, and legal procedure on which a case can be appealed. This process can take over one year.

A FINAL NOTE

The law is very complex. You have undoubtedly heard of "technicalities" on which a case is lost (or won). But the law and its technicalities, in an insurance case, a car wreck, a death case, and in every other case, apply to the facts of the case. We count on you to help us learn and prove the facts about "what happened" and about you.