Listed below are seven items you should take care with in the wake of an accident and when you are employing New York accident lawyers to fight on your behalf. Failure to follow these could result in your New York injury attorney having a weaker case, which could result in you losing any potential claims you might have.

1. Contacting the Legal Eagles Before the Medical Saint Bernard is Even There. Come on, how badly could you be hurt if your first thought is to call an attorney before getting medical help? This is what the defense attorney is going to use against you if he discovers that you hired a Long Island personal injury attorney before you decided to see a doctor for treatment (And this is easily revealed with medical and court records).

2. Choosing Some Other Doctor Over an M.D. Chiropractors, acupuncturists, and physical therapists all have their place in the healing hierarchy, and can be of great help to you when your body needs healing. However, the gold standard of medical treatment is from a medical doctor. Your lawyer’s job is going to persuade jurors to believe that your injuries are real. Sworn testimony from a licensed medical doctor will have much more impact on your case than the testimony of a chiropractor, no matter how talented and qualified he is.

3. Always, Always, Always Take Photos! Remember to take as many pictures as possible of the accident. With technology the way it is today (Digital cameras, cell phone cameras), it should be no trouble at all for you or someone with you to get photos of the accident. You should always take pictures of any injuries sustained, and then follow-up with more pictures as they heal. The more pictures the better. Never have I heard an automobile accident attorney lament the fact that he has too many pictures from his client. However, I did hear one insurance company lawyer lament the other side having too many pictures as it resulted in the insurance company having to make a bigger payout. Jurors want to see the accident from start to finish. Let them see, and they will believe!

4. Record Everything at the Accident. If you’ve suffered an injury, call an ambulance. If you’ve uninjured, try to talk to the other drivers. However, if the other driver insists on talking to you or is apologetic or appears intoxicated, use your cell phone to record them. Use your cell phone to record the conditions of the other driver’s car. Look to see if the other driver was distracted in any way (Drinks, cosmetics, food). Ask the driver to exchange insurance information and cell phone numbers with you. Make a note of the exact time of the accident. If you have been injured, have someone else gather all these details for you. Get to a hospital as soon as you can to get checked out, and follow any instructions given you by the doctor. Don’t even consider getting in touch with a car wreck lawyer until after you’re undergoing treatment.

5. Miss Follow Up Medical Appointments. Remember that the money you receive at the end of a case is dependant on how badly injured you were. The severity of your injury is measured by a jury in these ways: first, the pain of the injury. Any permanent effects of the injury will be the second factor, and these include such items as scarring, limited range of motion, total dismemberment, and so forth. The last will be the economic impact of the injury, including lost wages and damage to property. This last factor is relatively easy to determine. However, without thorough medical records the first two factors will be impossible to determine. Your credibility diminishes severely when you don’t follow up with your doctor.

6. Talking Too Much. When it comes to litigation, silence is golden. If any insurance companies or lawyers from the other side attempt to call you, direct them to your attorney. They try to talk to you directly in order to undermine your case. They’ll take down everything you tell them. That’s why the less you say the better off you are.

7. Exaggerating Your Injury, Claiming an Injury Which Cannot be Proven, or Worse, Claiming an Injury Which Never Happened. This is as bad as it gets. In the eyes of a jury, if you claim a specific injury, it had better be proven. If not, the defense attorney will hang it around your neck for the entire trial. You will be labeled a malingered and all of your injuries will be called into question. Your motor vehicle accident lawyer’s job just became more difficult than before.

The law offices of Charles R. Gueli staff some of the best New York accident lawyers available. Visit their homepage and get a Long Island personal injury attorney to help you soon!

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