When Your Personal Injury Case Gets Personal

Attorney-client relationships are special. Victims involved in serious car accidents will need the help of a personal injury lawyer and they can expect their dealings to rise above that of most business relationships. To learn how this privileged situation encourages and promotes the success of your accident case, read below.

The Valued Attorney-Client Relationship

From the moment you speak with a lawyer, everything (with few exceptions) is confidential even if on the phone. Any time you count on a lawyer to help you with something, whether it's a criminal matter, a financial matter, or a car accident case, it's vital that you be honest and forthcoming with them. What you say or communicate to the lawyer is in confidence, and even a judge cannot force anyone to reveal it. One main exception to the attorney-client privilege is when you threaten to perform a future criminal act. For example, if you are so upset with the driver that hit you and caused injuries to you and your family that you make threats of physical violence against them, that speech is not protected.

Why That Relationship Is Valuable

After a car accident, your lawyer needs to know everything about you and the accident. Even past issues you don't want to bring up could haunt you during a hotly contested case. For instance, if you don't tell the lawyer about your past driving record that contains numerous violations, you and your lawyer could be blindsided while negotiating a settlement, at the deposition, or in court. Other sensitive issues that should be disclosed to your attorney include:

  • If you think your actions might have contributed to the cause of the accident, tell your lawyer.
  • If you have been involved in a past accident, provide all the details to your lawyer.
  • If you have declared bankruptcy, been sued, or already suffer from serious medical conditions, don't hold that information back from your lawyer.

Fighting Fire With Fire

Disclosures like those above and others can be made in complete privacy but when you take legal action, it's important to understand what is at stake. If your injuries were serious and your medical bills were extremely high, the insurer will do everything possible to reduce your compensation. To that end, they will perform investigations that extend to issues that you thought were private and well-buried. As long as your lawyer knows about all the hidden issues, though, they can be ready when they come up.

Get the representation you need by being honest when communicating with your lawyer. To find out more, speak to a firm like Frank Penney Injury Lawyers.


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