If you’ve been injured and are hoping to bring a viable personal injury case, you may be wondering:
What information should I share with my attorney?
How much information does he or she need to know about my past?
I’ve been involved in previous accidents and I’ve been injured before. Should details about those incidents be disclosed?
While you may feel intimidated by the concept of sharing so much information with your attorney, if you want to bring a successful personal injury case communicating clearly and openly with your personal injury lawyer about past accidents and injuries is imperative.
Why You Should Share As Much Information as Possible With Your Attorney
Why should you disclose as much information as possible to your attorney? The reason is simple: if your case is placed into litigation, the defense attorneys and the insurance carriers will most certainly find out about it, and will attempt to use it to undermine your claims. You and your lawyer will want to be completely prepared and on the same page so your case is not derailed by details you may have (intentionally or unintentionally) failed to disclose.
Clients will frequently comment that they are surprised to find that the defense attorney knows so much about their history. It is important to know that insurance carriers have a great many tools at their disposal, which will be used to obtain information regarding your history. Not only will they seek authorizations to obtain your prior medical records (and by placing your physical condition in controversy, you are likely required to provide such authorizations), but insurance carriers will also run searches into your prior claims history.
These reports will provide the carrier with information regarding any prior claim you may have filed, and any medical treatment you may have received following that accident. This is a legitimate and lawful investigative tool for the carrier and, in fact, is good business practice, to ensure that fraudulent claims are quickly identified.
Bear in mind that all of this information will be provided to the defense attorney, and he or she may ask you about it at your deposition.
If you were to deny some prior accident or injury, because you mistakenly believe that the attorney would not learn about it, you would be presenting inconsistent and unreliable testimony, and the defense could use this later to suggest that you are not credible and can not be believed when discussing the current claims.
As a result, it is always very important to tell your attorney everything, whether your not you believe that it may be relevant. Armed with that knowledge, your attorney can better take action to protect your interests.
Find A Personal Injury Attorney You Are Comfortable Communicating With
It is always critical to tell your own attorney any and all information about your accident, your injuries, and your prior history – even prior accidents, that occurred well in the past, and involved little or no significant injuries.
To make doing so as easy as possible, you need to find a compassionate, understanding lawyer that you feel completely comfortable working with. If you’ve been injured in Albany, Johnstown, Saugerties, Amsterdam, Catskill, Gloversville, Hudson or elsewhere throughout Upstate NY, turn to the personal injury attorneys at Maynard, O’Connor, Smith & Catalinotto.
Our team of experienced, compassionate lawyers can help you every step of the way, from determining if you have a viable case to thoroughly preparing to bring the case to trial if necessary. We have achieved impressive case results for past clients and will work hard to ensure you are granted the compensation you deserve.
If you have been injured in an accident, please contact our team today. With offices in Albany, Saugerties and Johnstown we are a convenient choice for individuals throughout the state of New York.
Give us a call at (800) 721-3553 or contact us online for a FREE case review. We can take the steps necessary to protect you and to ensure that you receive the compensation that you deserve.
