What Should You Do If You're Hurt At A Friend's House?
When you are at a friend's home and suffer an injury, your first instinct might be to attempt to work it out with your friend. However, as medical bills and other inconveniences start to mount, you may want to file a claim in order to get a financial settlement that will help you. Use these suggestions so that everything can go smoothly for you.
File Sooner Rather Than Later
One of the biggest mistakes you can make after your accident is to fail to file in a timely manner. You might not know this, but many states have time limitations that you have to observe if you hope to mount a personal injury case against someone. If you take too long, you may miss out on any benefits. To know for sure how long you have to file your claim, enlist the guidance of an attorney or make a call to the office of your state's attorney general; they should be able to advise you about how long you have to move forward.
Do Not Talk to Your Friend Alone
After a while, you might want to contact your friend and rehash the situation to see if they've had a change of heart and will agree to pay for your medical bills or other costs. You may imagine that your friendship will remain intact and that they will be reasonable enough to come through.
This can be a problem for a number of reasons. Not only might your friend refuse to take responsibility for what happened, a conversation between the two of you might inflame the situation and cause further legal problems, particularly if the situation escalates. Instead, allow your attorney to communicate with your friend or their lawyer. If you insist on having a conversation, have your attorney there so that they can stop you from saying things that could make things worse for your case.
Don't Withhold Information from Your Attorney
You might be tempted to withhold information from your attorney in an effort to put yourself in a more favorable light. However, when you aren't honest or forthcoming with information, it can make your lawyer's job more difficult. It might embarrass you to admit that you were drinking in your friend's home before the accident, for instance, but it is necessary to share that information with your lawyer. Your friend is likely to give as much information as they can to their own attorney in an effort to protect themselves and prevent you from prevailing; don't assume that anything can remain hidden.
Use everything you've learned in this article to be confident that you can mount a solid legal case for yourself. Heed the counsel of your personal injury attorney so that you can have the situation resolved in a way that benefits you. Check out the site for more information.