How To Be A Great Personal Injury Client

Once you have decided to hire a lawyer to advance your personal injury claim, you want to make the most of that relationship and you want your claim to be as successful as possible. Part of that success could have to do not with how good a lawyer you selected but with how good a client you are. The fact is that the client plays a very significant role in the outcome of any personal injury case. If you want to ensure that you do everything in your power to improve your chance of achieving a great settlement, here are some important considerations.

1) Keep Your Lawyer Up to Date on Your Medical Status

Your lawyer will obtain your medical records in all likelihood. However, your doctor does not contact your lawyer to give regular updates. If there is a change in your medical situation, or if you see a specialist or are referred to surgery, in most situations your lawyer will not know that if you don't tell him or her. Regular simple updates are key to helping your lawyer develop your case.

2) Keep Your Lawyer Up to Date on Your Employment Status

Similarly, you need to keep your lawyer in the loop on what is going on with your job. If you increase or decrease your hours at work due to changes in your post-accident condition, you should let your lawyer know. If you decline a promotion or opportunity to go on a business trip, your lawyer will wish to be apprised. Finally, if you are contemplating leaving your job after the accident, you should advise your lawyer if at all possible.

3) Co-operate with The Lawyer's Communication Policy

Many lawyers have a policy where they do not accept incoming calls that have not been prescheduled. This is because they are working on people's cases all day and it is not productive to start and stop to take phone calls or even answer emails. Understand that this policy helps the lawyer do the best work possible and is not designed to prevent you from speaking to the lawyer. In many cases, your question can be answered by the lawyer's staff. Do try to see if you can get an answer that way. If not, schedule an appointment to speak to the lawyer on the phone or in person. If at all possible, let the staff person scheduling the appointment know exactly what you are calling about so the lawyer can have an answer ready or considered.

Following these three steps will go a long way to helping you and your lawyer improve your chance of success.

About the Author

Ottawa personal injury lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth represents injured accident victims in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. For more information about how Brenda can help you with your claim visit http://www.personalinjuryottawa.ca or call 613-233-4529.

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