When you have to deal with an electrical accident injury, you will want to avoid some common mistakes. This list is prepared by an electrical accident attorney based on experience.
1. Signing papers you do not understand
When a liability adjuster for the electric utility company or government agency asks you to sign papers, he is generally doing his job. And his job is to minimize what is paid out. If you are like most electrical injury victims, you have no experience in settling a big claim, and you cannot evaluate what you are being asked to sign.
Please read carefully before signing anything. If you do not understand what you are asked to sign, and how it affects your personal injury claim, then you should get advice before you sign.
2. Deciding on the wrong value of the claim
To the injured person and his family, a serious electrical accident is a devastating problem. But to the adjuster, it is a business transaction. In deciding on an amount of money, you try to put aside your feelings.
If you were buying or selling a house, and had no information about value, you would get a bad outcome. You might sell for too low a price. Or you might turn down a good offer because your price was unrealistically high.
The same result happens in a personal injury case. Most people have no idea what an injury claim is worth. Valuing a case requires that you consider lots of factors. For a small case not much is at stake. But an electrical accident results in massive burn injuries and potentially results in a big case. For a big case, you are better off if the valuation is done by an experienced attorney.
3. Hiding the facts from your lawyer
No one is perfect. Your lawyer has heard it all before. If your lawyer knows about the potential problems, he or she can deal with the situation. Sometimes clients feel guilty about something, but the Judge and Jury often forgive human weaknesses. An experienced lawyer will know how to minimize any bad effect. It is much worse to be dishonest and let your team walk into a trap you could have warned them about.
4. Choosing a doctor based on a lawyer’s referral
This mistake is not common for an electrical accident, because the major injuries are first seen in the emergency room and then by the surgeons on call. But you may want to know why this can be a problem.
A proper deposition question by the company’s defense lawyer is “Mr. Jones, how did you come to be treated by Dr Smith?” The worst answer is “Lawyer X told me to go to that doctor.”
Compare the worst answer to a good answer: “My family doctor referred me.” Or “I called the hospital/clinic and they gave me the doctor’s name and telephone number.” Since you have to tell the truth in your deposition, you may as well do it right and choose doctors based on referrals from health professionals.
5. Choosing a lawyer based on advertising
Lawyer advertising can give an incomplete impression. For example, yellow pages ads can imply experience that may not relate to a specific case.
The best recommendation for a lawyer is from another lawyer. Most of our cases come from other lawyers who do not handle large personal injury cases, for example corporate lawyers, divorce lawyers, tax lawyers or estate planning lawyers. You may be reading this page because your family attorney referred you to this office. Sometimes a friend or family member has experienced a good result after a major injury, and can recommend an attorney who gives good service. Some of our cases involve representing other lawyers. Since you have to choose a lawyer, you may as well do it right.
For more information about your accidental electrocution claim, you are invited to ask a question from this website, or you can contact us by telephone. For no charge, you can ask a question or speak to an electrical accident attorney.