People get hurt all the time and in lots of different ways. Bad things really do happen to good people. Sometimes it's just bad luck; but sometimes it's not. Someone else may be at fault, and you need to be informed about that prospect by getting good legal advice. The person or entity causing the injury may be held responsible by the payment of damages, but this won't happen automatically. You owe it to yourself and your family to take some immediate action when you've been seriously hurt.
Personal injury matters are called in the law "tort cases" and may arise from auto, boat, motorcycle, bicycle, and other vehicle accidents, injuries from unsafe conditions on real property, defective products, wrongful death, pedestrian accidents, uninsured motorist, third party workplace, and involve claims against public entities. Also included are intentional torts such as assault and battery, fraud, slander and defamation, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, theft and conversion.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE BEEN HURT: The first thing you need to do is get good advice as soon as you are able, if only to find out whether or not there is any chance you have a legally cognizable claim. If you do, you need someone to help you protect your rights and get you the recovery you deserve. If you wait too long, your recovery may be barred just by the passage of time.
When you're injured, you may be contacted by the responsible person through a claims adjuster or investigator for their insurance company. You need to be extremely cautious about what you say to these people, as their business is to save their company money by trying to settle claims quickly and cheaply, and they are always highly trained at obtaining statements that may later be used against you to minimize the nature and extent of the harm you've suffered. Before you talk to
anyone, get some competent legal advice!!
If there is a particular object or thing that has caused your injury, you will need to save it. This could be a broken part to some kind of machinery, or some food that made you sick, or a rotten step that caused you to fall, or anything that might "disappear" if you don't take physical control of it or get good pictures of its condition. Where an injury is caused by a dangerous or defective condition of someone's premises, you need to be aware that the owner may repair that condition immediately, and evidence that it was repaired is
inadmissible to show fault. If you've been in an vehicular accident, the extent of the damage may often bear directly on the extent of your injuries. In this kind of situation, the best way to preserve evidence is to take a lot of pictures of the condition and the damage as soon as possible, before it is repaired, including your own property. The assistance of your own insurance carrier may be helpful in this effort.
Insurance Issues: If you are insured against damages from the incident, notify and cooperate with your own carrier fully. If the other side has insurance, it is very likely their trained investigators will attempt to record an interview with you, in which they attempt to elicit statements from you which later may minimize their exposure and limit your recovery. It is imperative that you refrain from such interviews, and under no circumstances you sign any document until you have retained counsel.
Health Care Issues: Common sense dictates that your first obligation is to yourself to get the best medical care you can and to follow the instructions of your doctor as nearly to the letter as possible.
Confidentiality: You are the holder of the attorney-client confidential communication privilege; that is, nobody can find out about any communications with your attorney unless you let them. Therefore, do not talk to anyone about your case until you have retained counsel.