Should I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Attorney David Klibaner | 888-593-1295 | Free Consult

"Insurance companies… are always going to try and make the person who is hurt somehow less than a desirable person. So, they’ll look at a person who is not working and claim they should be working—even if the person is hurt."

After a serious injury, you may be wondering: should I file a personal injury lawsuit?

When an individual, company, or government entity violates safety rules and hurts somebody, that person has a claim. But how can you tell if you have a valid claim?

David Klibaner is an injury attorney with Klibaner Law Firm PC based in Denver, Colorado. In this video, he explains some of the essentials that people need to know about personal injury claims.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-593-1295 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Key Takeaways From David Klibaner:

The best ways to strengthen your claim are to:

1. Speak with complete honesty regarding what happened during the accident
2. Focus on getting on with your normal life.

If your main goal is to recover and move forward with your life, this will show through your action and speech and subsequently help your case with the insurance companies.

Insurance companies often question the reputation of the injured party in an attempt to weaken their claim.

Insurance companies often do everything they can do make the injured person seem less reputable than they are. If the injured party tells the doctor about their legal claim rather than focusing on the injury, the insurance company may try to use this against them. “You’re only seeing the doctor so you can file a lawsuit,” for example.

There are several common reactions to being injured, and some of these can harm your case.

See a doctor right away, even if you don’t feel like you’re seriously injured.

Toughing it out and choosing not to seek medical attention right away could cause the insurance company to question the severity of your injury.

When an insurance company has reason to question the legitimacy of your injury, they have reason to question your claim, which weakens your case overall. Therefore, it is vital that you seek medical attention as soon as possible after suffering the injury, especially if you have any suspicion you might have been seriously hurt.

Waiting to file can kill your claim.

Another reaction to watch out for is the human tendency to just wait it out. You want to file your claim before the statute of limitations in your state for a personal injury has ended. Once the statute of limitations has passed, there is nothing you or an attorney can do to seek compensation for your injury. Another reason to file quickly: it allows your attorney to begin gathering evidence from the scene of the injury as soon as possible, a task which becomes much more difficult as time goes on.

When seeking medical care, avoid talking about your legal situation with your medical team.

Discussing your case with your doctor can sometimes result in your words being noted in your medical records. Insurance companies may try to use those records as proof that the client isn’t actually injured, but merely trying to build their own case.

It's also a good idea to avoid describing details regarding how the injury was sustained. Through no fault of your own, the doctor or nurse may write something down incorrectly, and then this could be used against you later.

If contacted by the other party’s insurance company, let your attorney do the talking.

If you do decide to speak to an insurance company on your own, remember to speak only the truth and to describe the situation as concisely as possible.

Call the police immediately after being injured.

This way, law enforcement has a record of the event and can collect their own evidence at the scene. Failing to contact law enforcement after an injury can also affect the strength of your claim for the worse.

To learn more, contact David Klibaner directly by calling 888-593-1295 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.