6 Things You Can Do To Help Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit: Part 6 - Social Media is Not Your Friend

      Just in time for the holidays, we bring you the final installment of our 6 part series on how to increase your odds of a favorable result of your potential personal injury claim. This one focuses on the impact of social media. As we are all aware, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. have become increasingly popular and are gaining more and more users each day. Social media users commonly post photos and other updates about what they are doing, what is going on in their life, and even pictures of food he or she is about to eat. Many can attest to how frequently these individuals are updating their social media accounts by how often people are seen glued to their cell phones and computers in public. While this can be fun and certainly can be a useful way to connect with people, it can have major consequences on any legal proceedings, including personal injury claims, you may have.

      Any posts on social media are public posts, and can all too easily be discovered by people looking for information about you and your life. It is very important to carefully screen anything you post on social media. If you have a personal injury claim, you are up against attorneys and other individuals who are paid to investigate your life and the claims you are making, are paid to look for inconsistencies in your claims, and are paid to keep you from being fairly compensated. One of the first places these people look for inconsistencies and problems in your claim is social media. These individuals are familiar with most if not all different social media and know how to search for and find the information they are looking for, even information you might feel has been blocked or made private. Therefore, it is important to consider everything you post on social media as available for the entire world to see.

      All too often people post updates, statuses and pictures on social media without thinking of what these posts, updates, or pictures say about themselves, their lives, or their situations. Particularly when there is a personal injury claim. Keep in mind, when you are making a claim for injuries you sustained in an incident, you are also claiming that these injuries have had an impact on your life, that includes your ability to perform your normal activities and chores. Pictures and updates of you playing sports, working out, running around or having fun are big indicators that the injuries you are claiming are not as severe as stated. These statements will certainly be used against you and are admissible in court.



      The problems with posts on social media aren't limited to only posts about your activities. Many people use social media as an outlet to their frustrations or a place to lie or brag about conflicts and incidents in which they are involved. All too often social media users will post rants about a car accident or their work and speak out of emotion and ego. They will say things that aren't necessarily true, exaggerate facts, or bring up things that happened in the past that have nothing to do with the incident itself. Again, these statements can contain information that can and certainly will be used against you in your personal injury claim. If you have truly been injured in an incident due to someone else's negligence, the truth is enough. There is no need to exaggerate, lie, or make up anything about the incident. In fact, lies and exaggerations will more than likely hurt your claim.

      A good rule to remember is this - don't post anything on social media you wouldn't be comfortable saying out loud in open court or in public. An even better rule is not to keep any social media posts to an extreme minimum until the conclusion of your case and not to post anything at all about the incident or your claim itself.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

6 Things You Can Do To Help Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit - Part 4: Chiropractors

           This entry will be focused on the involvement of chiropractors in your medical treatment and how it relates to your personal injury case. It is very common for people who suffer injuries to their neck or back to seek treatment from a chiropractor after an incident. After all, chiropractors work on the neck and back and are often times more affordable than going to a hospital, M.D. or orthopedic physician. It is very important to understand the role chiropractic treatment plays in building a personal injury case and establishing injuries and damages.

            While chiropractic medicine has certainly made some incredible advances in the last several decades, it can be viewed skeptically by the judges, juries, and insurance companies. Remember, these are ultimately the ones who will need to be convinced in order to maximize the value of your case. Injured people will oftentimes focus on what seems to be the cheapest, quickest fix for their injuries, or rely on advice from friends or family and go visit a chiropractor. This often times will cause a problem later on in the case when trying to prove the extent of injuries and pain and suffering, as well as connecting the injuries to the incident.

            This is not to say chiropractic medicine is without its merit, nor is it to say that one should not visit a chiropractor to treat injuries involved in a personal injury case. Chiropractors can very often be extremely helpful in providing relief for injuries and any negative impacts on one’s personal injury case can be mitigated simply by obtaining an order for chiropractic treatment from your primary care physician, an orthopedic physician, or another medical doctor and periodically following up with this doctor throughout your chiropractic treatment.

            The final take home lesson is simply this: for purposes of improving your odds on winning your personal injury case, if you are going to see a chiropractor to treat your injuries, couple your chiropractor visits with routine follow up visits to your primary care doctor or orthopedic surgeon. Remember, your personal injury case begins immediately after the incident.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

6 Things You Can Do To Help Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit - Part 3: Tell Your Doctor Everything

     Part 3 of our 6 part series on how to prevent problems in your personal injury lawsuit follows part 2 nicely. When you visit your doctor for treatment, make sure you tell your doctor everything. A very important step in establishing your injury, in creating hard evidence to prove that you were in fact injured, comes from talking with your doctor.

    When someone first sees a doctor on any visit, the doctor will more often than not take what is called a "history" from the patient. This basically means they are asking the patient why he/she came in, is the patient suffering from any problems (pains, illnesses, etc), and if so, when did they start and how did they come about. While the patient is giving his/her history, the physician is writing down what the patient is saying. It is very important that the patient gives a complete and accurate history to the physician. This is important for two reasons: 1. an accurate and complete history is necessary for the doctor to come to an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan (if the doctor doesn't know what is wrong, he can't very well treat it); and 2. this written history makes it onto the medical record, which will act as hard evidence of the injury later.

     Every personal injury lawsuit will require the injured party to be able to prove that he/she is injured, and hard evidence in the form of medical records goes a long way to help. Certainly the injured party will testify, assuming he/she is able to, that he/she was injured and will talk about his/her injuries at trial. However, judges and juries will often look at plaintiffs skeptically.

     Think about it this way: You are telling 12 people who don't know you that you were injured because of the Defendant and you should be compensated. Most members of the jury have likely heard a story or two about some plaintiff faking an injury, or have heard about frivolous lawsuits, or know someone who knows someone who won millions of dollars in a lawsuit. If the jury can't physically see the effects of your injuries, they will very likely think that you might be trying to get rich, or that you are faking the extent of your injuries. Even if this isn't true, as a plaintiff' it is your burden of proof; you must first prove all the elements of your case with a "preponderance of the evidence," including your injuries and the extent of the pain and suffering you suffered.

     Medical records will help to support your testimony about your injuries. You testify that you suffered head injuries in a construction accident and were extremely dizzy and nauseous after the incident. When the jury views your medical records they will see what you told the doctor you were suffering from. If the history in your medical records says you were involved in a construction accident and were complaining of dizziness and nausea, then the jury will see that your story has been independently corroborated. If they see that the medical records only mention that you told the doctor you had a headache, they jury will think that the medical records contradict your story and your credibility will suffer.

    So remember, tell your doctor everything. Tell your doctor about how your injury occurred, when it happened, and report to your doctor all of your symptoms, whether you think they are minor or not. Let the doctor figure out if your complaints are major or minor.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

6 Things You Can Do To Help Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit - Part 2: Don't Wait to See A Doctor

     When you are involved in a personal injury claim or lawsuit, you will be judged by the "reasonable person" standard. This standard can be very hard to meet, because it is often subjective (based upon who is applying the standard to you) and because most people believe they always behave as reasonable people do. However, one of the easiest ways to "act like a reasonable person" when you are injured is to seek medical treatment and seek it without delay.

     Keep in mind that, while there are many many reasons to go to a doctor when you are hurt, this article will only discuss the legal perspectives on seeking medical treatment.

     Defense attorneys and insurance companies, two groups that you will very likely be fighting against while pursuing your personal injury claim, will examine your actions leading up to and after the incident for evidence of your injuries. They will be trying to find a way to either avoid paying out on your claim. A very common technique is to establish that you were not, in fact, injured (or at least not hurt as severely as you claim) because you did not seek medical attention or waited too long before you sought medical treatment.

     It is an argument that is made in almost every personal injury claim or lawsuit: "If (the injured person) was actually hurt, or was hurt as bad as he/she claims, why didn't he/she go to the doctor immediately?" or "why did he/she wait so long before following up with a doctor, or receiving further treatment?" Now there certainly may be many reasons why you didn't go to a doctor or hospital immediately: scheduling difficulties, financial concerns, not wanting to go to a doctor unless it is absolutely necessary. While these reasons may seem perfectly reasonable to you, they may not seem perfectly reasonable to a judge or jury.

     If you think you may have been injured due to the fault of another, and you are not sure if you should go to a physician, remember this: "when a reasonable person is injured, a reasonable person gets medical treatment as soon as possible, and continues to get treatment until they are healed." This is the standard you will be held to by the judge, the jury, the defense attorneys and the insurance companies, so remember it and make your life a little easier.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

6 Things You Can Do To Help Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit - Part 1: Talk to Your Attorney

     Recently I was contacted by a client who asked if there was anything he could do, or anything he should do, to increase the odds of getting a favorable outcome from his personal injury lawsuit. That got me thinking about some common advice that we often give to our clients when contacted about personal injury claims. Besides the obvious (find a good attorney), there are 6 things you can do to help shorten the time it takes to resolve your case, increase the value of your case, and increase the odds of a favorable outcome. This post will focus on the first: Talk to your attorney.

     This may seem obvious, but the first piece of advice is to talk to your attorney. All too often clients hire an attorney and then wait for their attorney to contact them, forget to keep their attorney apprised of updates in their case, or are afraid to ask their attorney questions. This can cause a litany of problems with your case.

     Remember your attorney works for you. His/her job is to protect your rights and fight for you, and it is important to remember that your attorney is on your side. Your attorney has an extensive education, training and experience to draw from to give you advice on your case and answer your questions. This is an invaluable resource, and one that you are entitled to once you have hired an attorney. Ask as many questions as you can about your case, what you should and should not be doing and whether there are any issues with your case. Let your attorney know if there any changes or updates in your condition or any issues relating to your case; for example, if your medical condition changes, you visit a new doctor, you are discharged from medical care, etc. Remember your attorney only knows what you tell him or her; if you don't keep your attorney up to date, he/she can't give you the legal representation you deserve.

     Just as often there are attorneys who neglect to keep in touch with their clients after they are hired and fail to keep lines of communication open. It is recommended that clients make regular calls to your attorney, even if your attorney doesn't make regular calls to you. Again, your attorney works for you. Your lawyer might have dozens, or even hundreds of other cases besides yours, but your case is your only case, and it deserves to be treated as such.

   

If you have further questions or concerns about your case, or a potential case, please call a licensed attorney, or contact Eckert & Smestad, LLC: www.eckertsmestad.com.

*This is attorney advertising. No attorney-client agreement or related privileges are created without further written agreement by all parties. The above is meant only as general advice. Consult a licensed attorney for advice on your specific case.

New Illinois Law May Make It Easier to Get Out of Jury Duty

     The Illinois Legislature has passed Bill 3075, which is waiting for Governor Quinn's signature before it comes into law. Many believe that this law is great news for Illinois citizens. Why? Because Bill 3075 will significantly reduce the likelihood that each citizen gets called in for jury duty.

     Jury duty, while a very important service required to maintain our legal system, has never been very popular. As almost anyone who has been called for jury duty will recount, it can be tedious and inconvenient, and on top of it, jurors aren't compensated very well for their time.

     Every Illinois citizen over the age of 18 can be selected at random for jury duty. Bill 3075 will cut the number of jurors at civil trials from 12 to 6. Less jurors at trial will reduce the size of jury pools, which will reduce the number of individuals selected for jury duty, which will reduce the odds that each individual citizen is called for jury duty.

                                                  

     This bill also raises the compensation levels for jurors to $25 for the first day and $50 for each additional day of service. This compared with current law which sets jury compensation by county population size; the highest current jury pay is in Cook County, which pays $17.20/day.

     Bill 3075 is supported by a large swath of the Illinois population, including several prominent legal interest groups, including the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. It is also opposed by some other legal interest groups, typically those focused on civil defense. These defense groups argue that this bill favors plaintiffs, there aren't conclusive studies which support this assertion.

     The bill's supporters claim that it makes civil trials more efficient and is designed to benefit jurors. Supporters also argue that the bill will save state and county governments a significant amount of money, which considering the current state of Illinois budget problems, could offer a great deal of relief.  to Illinois. Supporters also cite the bill's increased jury compensation provision will make jurors happier, and result in more attentive and effective juries.

     For more information, see these articles: here and here.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Staten Island Man Dies After Potential Police Brutality Incident

     There is no question that Police Officers, in general, are brave, respectable individuals who put their lives on the line to protect us all. Unfortunately, there are a small number of police officers who have abused the authority and power given to them and hurt, or even killed, the citizens they were sworn to protect. These incidents, however uncommon, can be so disturbing that the stories spread throughout the community and can result in severe distrust for members of the police force. Recently, an incident occurred in New York City which has brought the discussion of police brutality.

     On July 17, 2014 a 43-year old Staten Island man, Eric Garner, died after an encounter with New York City police officers. A number of NYPD officers approached Garner regarding an investigation into the illegal sale of cigarettes. Witnesses stated that an argument broke out between Garner and the officers, and at some point one of the officers placed the asthmatic Garner in a chokehold. Garner reportedly fell to the ground and passed out after telling the officer he could not breath. He was pronounced dead later that evening at Richmond University Medical Center, although the cause of death has yet to be determined. The incident was filmed by witnesses, a copy of the video (Warning: May be disturbing) can be found here.

     During a press conference with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, Commissioner Bratton stated that it was against NYPD policy to use chokeholds, even when interacting with individuals who may be resisting arrest. This incident has prompted an investigation into the cause of Garner's death and the possible violation of Garner's civil rights by the officers. Some have accused these officers of using excessive force against Garner, and the incident has sparked anger in the community against the NYPD.

    Regardless of the result of the investigation into the Garner incident, there are certainly incidents in which police officers have abused their power and violated citizens' civil rights. If you, a friend or a loved one has been the victim of excessive force, false arrest, illegal search and seizures, or any other civil rights violation by a member of the police, it is recommended that they talk to a licensed and competent attorney.

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

   

New Year's Resolution 1 of 5: Be a Nicer Person - The realities of a defamation/slander/libel lawsuit

     Although a little late for the beginning of 2014, we at Eckert & Smestad introduce our 5 part blog series entitled "New Year's Resolutions."  Each blog under this series will tackle a legal issue related to different popular and common New Year's Resolutions. Below, just in time for many people to start giving up on their own resolutions, is part 1:

BE A BETTER PERSON: THE REALITIES OF A DEFAMATION/SLANDER/LIBEL LAWSUIT

     A common resolution goes something like this: "I will be a better person this year." This can be an overwhelming, and sometimes too vague and big a task for many people to successfully complete. One aspect of this resolution is to refrain from speaking negatively or spreading rumors about other people. In legal terms (although there are many elements to this, as discussed below), this can lead to a cause of action for defamation, slander, or libel. The legal definition of defamation, according to this Legal Dictionary is "Any intentional false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person's reputation, decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person." Generally, slander is defamation that is spoken, and libel is defamation that is written. 

     In order to succeed with a defamation claim, a plaintiff must be able to prove each of the following elements (keep in mind there are many defenses, intricacies, and other legal issues which are involved in defamation claims, and this article is not intended to act as a substitute for the advise of a competent and licensed attorney):

            1. The defendant made a FALSE statement of fact about the plaintiff

            2. The statement was published to a third party (it was told or written to another person besides the plaintiff)

            3. There was fault by the defendant rising to at least the level of negligence (the defendant either made the statement knowing it was false, or with negligence as to whether the statement was false or not); and

            4.  The plaintiff (or his/her reputation) was damaged by the defendant's statement.

     Many people who call attorneys with potential defamation claims call to complain because some person said something negative about them.  While this can sometimes give rise to an actionable defamation claim, there are many common problems which must first be considered before one actually attempts to bring a defamation lawsuit against another.  

     The first problem commonly encountered with many potential defamation claims is that the alleged defamatory statement is an opinion, and not a statement of fact.  Many phone calls that come through our office deal with situations in which someone "said I was dumb" or "told my boss that I was a bad employee" or "told my boyfriend/girlfriend that I was a jerk" (although jerk is often not the word used).  While these may be false, and while they may be harmful to your reputation, many of these statements do not rise to the level of fact necessary to satisfy the first element.  Keep in mind, the first thing that must be proved is that the statement was false.  If someone calls you dumb, you will first have to prove what criteria must be used to judge what "dumb" meant in this particular situation, and then prove that you do not fit that certain criteria.  A more actionable statement would be that some person "said I had an IQ of 40" or "told my boss that I was embezzling money" or "told my boyfriend/girlfriend that I was cheating on them."  These are statements that can easily be disproven.

     The second common problem with potential defamation claims is one of damages.  Even if one can satisfy all of the elements of a defamation/slander/libel claim, the plaintiff must then be able to answer the ultimate question ... so what will make you whole again?  What are the damages you seek?  If the defamatory statement is still being published, the plaintiff can certainly seek a judicial order requiring the statement to be removed from whatever media, or an order requiring the defendant to cease from publishing the statement.  However, in most cases, the defamatory statement was said once and has disappeared.  In these cases, monetary damages is the only award available.  Proving what the damage to your reputation is worth can be very difficult without something solid to lean on, such as a loss of a job due to the statement, failure to obtain a loan or financing, etc.  Without some sort of concrete evidence of the harm to your reputation, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to convince a jury to award you any money.  And that could make the whole process a waste of time and money. 

*This is attorney advertising, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Any advice given in the preceding statement is given as general advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice for any specific scenarios. For specific advice, or for answers to your questions, call Eckert & Smestad (312-789-4810) or call a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.