Pamphlet for the injured client

One of the most important things you can do to help me with your case is to keep good records. I am depending on you to save and then send to me all the medical and pharmaceutical bills, as well as any insurance policies or other important papers that may assist me with your case. If you have lost income because of your injury, I will need copies of your income tax returns from recent years to establish your wage earning history. Additionally, I may ask you to take a Lost Wages Statement to your employer for completion and return to me. I will need a list of the names and addresses of anyone who witnessed to your injury.

Your doctor

Your doctor is interested only in your physical well-being. It is not necessary to discuss your legal situation with him or the status of your claim. If your doctor asks you whether you have an attorney, be truthful, but there is no need to volunteer that you are being represented or that you are making a claim against the person or company that negligently caused your injury. Discussions with your physician about your legal claim can mislead him into believing that you are litigious or more concerned with money than your return to good health.

Insurance adjusters

Once you have signed up as my client and I notify the insurance company that I represent you, the insurance company should no longer contact you about your injury claim. If someone does call you and tries to talk about your injury, the progress of the claim or other personal business, ask for their name and phone number, then politely but firmly terminate the call. Notify me about the incident and provide me the name and phone number.

A growing number of insurance companies are making movies of claimants taking out the trash, mowing the yard or working. This video surveillance is done in hopes of filming you doing something inconsistent with your doctor's instructions or doing tasks that you say you cannot do because of your injury. The problem with these videos is that they do not record any pain that you had while doing the task or show how you felt the next morning. There is no need to be paranoid, but a strange van parked on your street could be doing surveillance hoping for you to clean the gutters. Get the license number of the van and call me. Then, go about your normal day of rehabilitation, so you can get back to good health.

Friends and family

Friends and family want to help you. Many of them believe that they can give you legal advice, because they know someone who went through the same thing that you are going through. It is not a good idea to accept this kind of off-the-cuff legal counsel. Caution friends and family who try too hard to help that your case is a private matter and is not to be entered into public discussion. Always call your attorney for the answer to any question you have about your case.

Change of address

Be sure to let me know immediately of any change in your address or phone number. I may from time to time receive word on your case which needs to be relayed to you and requires prompt action or decision on your part.

Return to work

As a practical matter, you should return to work as soon as your doctor says that you are reasonably and physically able to do so. If you do not have a job to return to, please begin looking for another job as soon as possible. When applying for employment, you should be truthful about the fact that you have been injured and any residual impairment that you may still have. It is not fair to you or your prospective employer to exaggerate your physical ability to perform a job. A job application that says you are "healthy with no previous injuries" will be an effective weapon used against you at the trial of your injury case.

Subrogation

If you have health insurance and you have made a claim against that company to pay medical bills resulting from your injury, your health insurance company may invoke a clause in your health insurance policy for reimbursement of the benefits it paid on your behalf. You may receive a letter from your health insurance company saying that they want to be repaid from any money your receive from your case. If you receive such a letter, notify me and provide me a copy of the letter. I may be able to challenge their claim or negotiate a reduction.

Appointments with your attorney

I can only see you by appointment. Please do not just drop by. I may be in court, in a deposition, meeting with someone else, or out of the office. Your time and effort is wasted if I am not in. Please call for an appointment, if you need to see me. There is one exception: you don't need an appointment if you just need to drop off documents that I requested from you. Put the documents in an envelope with my name on it and give the envelope to the receptionist.

Bankruptcy

You have been injured, cannot work and the creditors are hounding you with bills. Do not file for bankruptcy, until you talk with me first. Bankruptcy is usually not necessary. Creditors want to get paid, not get notice of a bankruptcy filing, so they will almost always wait for their money if they know that you are taking steps to try to get it.

Summary

• Keep all appointments with your doctor.
• Ask your attorney, instead of friends and family, when you have a legal question.
• Write down things that you think might be helpful to your case and let me know about your ideas.
• Keep accurate records of your expenses and provide them to me.
• When possible, obtain all prescriptions from the same pharmacy. This makes for easier recordkeeping.
• Give advance notice if you are unable to keep any appointments with your doctor. If you fail to show up without calling in, they write "no show" in your chart.
• Be sure to tell your doctor about any injuries or conditions which you previously had. He needs a good history on you, and something you tell him may be 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.
• The insurance claims adjuster assigned to your case has access to vast amounts of information about you, so it is important that I know all there is to know, too.
• Please do not discuss your case with strangers.