When you are looking for a personal injury attorney who will fight for your best interests and your right to receive full and fair compensation for the injuries you sustained in an accident, you want to find an attorney you can trust. This is key to the attorney-client relationship, especially considering you will have to disclose many things to your attorney, a number of which can be delicate or sensitive matters. Having an open pathway of communication with your attorney, however, is critical to your attorney representing you to the best of his or her abilities. Here, let’s take a look at some of the things you will need to disclose to your personal injury attorney over the course of representation.
What You Need to Disclose to Your Personal Injury Attorney
Discussing any history you have with previous accidents, particularly those which resulted in injuries, will obviously be something you will need to disclose to your attorney. Pre-existing conditions in general will be something your attorney will need to know about as well as something you will need to be clear about with your team of medical professionals who treat you for your accident injuries. Pre-existing conditions can be a complicating, but not insurmountable, barrier in a personal injury claim. In order to show the insurance company that your injuries were caused by the accident and not a previous accident or pre-existing condition, your attorney will need all the information related to these matters.
Your attorney will also need to know if you are involved in any pending bankruptcy proceedings. This is to protect you and your personal injury settlement. Without being structured properly, any personal injury settlement you receive may end up subject to your bankruptcy proceedings and you will end up not seeing a dime. Be upfront with your attorney about this so they can help protect your settlement proceeds so they go to you and not your creditors.
Your social media use will also need to be discussed with your personal injury attorney. Over the years, the growth of social media use has become a liability for accident victims and a tool for insurance companies to use in attempts to undermine and disprove claims. Pictures and seemingly innocent pictures posted on social media can be used to undermine your claim. Insurance companies will point to social media postings to show that your life has not been impacted by the accident, that you were not truly injured, or that you were actually liable for causing the accident. It is likely that your attorney may advise you to eliminate or, at a minimum, limit your social media use throughout the personal injury claims process. Furthermore, do not accept any friend requests from people you do not know. They may be the prying eyes of insurance adjusters and investigators.
Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys
You can trust the personal injury attorneys at Compass Law Group. We honor the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship and never take our responsibilities to you lightly. Contact us today.
