Some People Are Simply Reluctant to Make a Personal Injury Claim

Some of my clients are “reluctant” to bring any kind of lawsuit.  They come to my office for a consultation and explain, “Look, I don’t want to cause any kind of trouble.  I even feel funny about coming to you.”

First of all, if you’ve been involved in a serious car accident, there is nothing to feel funny about.  If someone was negligent and caused you injury, you don’t need to be super-polite to your own detriment.  There is nothing to be ashamed of…if you were injured, you deserve compensation. 

However, it is natural to sometimes feel that way.  An experienced personal injury attorney is not about revenge or “sticking it” to anyone!  A good lawyer is honest and works for people to secure what law allows when clients have been injured by someone else’s carelessness.  Remember it is what the law allows!  We are working within the system.  The system was designed to protect victims. 

Most personal injury lawyers work hard to make their clients happy and to recover as much as they can for them.  Of course, a good lawyer will also set realistic expectations.   They should not promise you the moon just to get your case.

I once had a client who didn’t “want to sue anybody!”  It was basically “against his religion” to bring any kind of claim against anyone.  Truthfully, that is pretty noble versus some folks who want to sue everyone all the time.  Unfortunately, he had fallen due to the negligence of another, and he re-tore his rotator cuff as a result.  Now he had a serious rotator cuff injury.  Well, now he is facing surgery as a result of this incident, and his shoulder is causing him tremendous pain on a daily basis.  He was supposed to be enjoying his retirement but now he is in great pain every day.  Because he tried to “tough it out” and didn’t want to “bother anyone” with a claim, he made no mention of the accident to his doctors.  Now the insurance company for the guilty party is denying the claim, arguing the accident never happened because my client did not mention it to his doctors.  Truth is my client was “old school” and didn’t want to report his injury claim because he didn’t want to be “a bother.”  He was a really nice fellow who didn’t want to take advantage of the system.  However, the system isn’t fair and he should be compensated!

If you have an accident, don’t be ashamed to bring a claim.  That is why responsible people carry insurance – to compensate those they inadvertently injure!   That’s exactly why you should bring a claim if you have an honest injury.  Keep in mind you are not “suing” anyone immediately anyway. Most of the time, your case will be settled during the pre-litigation phase, well before any lawsuit has been filed.