How Personal Injury Plaintiffs Sabotage Their Claims

There are a variety of reasons why personal injury plaintiffs lose their cases. Unfortunately, many claims fail not because the injured person was not hurt or they do not have a strong case, but because of avoidable mistakes they made after their accident. Insurance companies and their attorneys actively seek out these mistakes and exploit them to reduce or deny compensation. Georgia personal injury law imposes strict standards for filing deadlines, the submission of evidence, and fault determinations, and running afoul of any of those standards can often sink a claim. The best way to avoid inadvertently sabotaging your personal injury claim is to work with a Tifton personal injury lawyer. 

Missing Deadlines Under the Statute of Limitations 

Most personal injury actions in Georgia must be filed within two years of the date the right of action accrues, which usually (but not always) is the date of the accident. Many plaintiffs miss filing deadlines because they assume that negotiations with insurance companies pause them (they don’t) or wait until they are fully healed to seek legal advice. By the time they go to file their claim, the statute of limitations has already run. While there are situations in which statutes of limitations can be “tolled” (e.g., an injury that is not reasonably discovered until years after an accident), a better option is to speak to an attorney as soon after an accident as possible. 

Delaying or Skipping Medical Treatment

Personal injury actions often turn on medical evidence, which can help establish the severity of the plaintiff’s injury and the damages it has caused them. If a plaintiff waits days or weeks to seek medical treatment for their injuries, skips appointments, stops treatment early, or does not follow their doctor’s advice, they create gaps in their medical record that insurance companies can use against them. One of the most common ways insurers do this is to argue that the plaintiff’s lack of care with their medical treatment means that their injuries are not as severe as they claim or were caused by something other than the accident at issue. Timely and diligent medical care is thus essential for preserving a claim. 

Failing to Preserve Evidence (i.e., “Spoliation”)

Georgia law requires parties to legal claims — both plaintiffs and defendants — to preserve evidence once litigation is reasonably foreseeable. Failure to do so, including through intentional destruction, is known as “spoliation.” Some examples of spoliation of evidence include: 

• Repairing or disposing of a damaged vehicle before it can be inspected 
• Disposing of damaged gear after a motorcycle accident
• Misplacing or discarding damaged products in a products liability case
• Deleting photos, videos, texts, and social media posts
• Failing to request surveillance footage before it is overwritten

Spoliation of evidence can lead to sanctions, adverse inferences about the spoiled evidence, and dismissal of claims. As such, plaintiffs in personal injury actions should take care to preserve everything they reasonably think could be relevant for their claim. Contact a Tifton personal injury lawyer for more specific advice about the location and preservation of evidence. 

Speaking to Insurers Without Legal Advice 

Potential personal injury plaintiffs should bear in mind that insurance adjusters work for insurers — not insureds. Their job is to minimize payouts by their employers rather than to ensure that injured parties are fully and adequately compensated. Speaking to an insurance adjuster without legal advice, such as giving a recorded statement immediately after an accident or speculating about the events, is risky because the adjuster can use those statements to deny or reduce claims. Insurance adjusters often frame even minor inconsistencies as dishonesty. To avoid such outcomes, politely decline to speak to insurance adjusters before speaking to a Tifton personal injury lawyer. 

Unwise Use of Social Media

Social media posts generally are discoverable during litigation, meaning that everything a plaintiff says there is available for the defense to use against them. Common social media mistakes in the aftermath of an accident include: 

• Posting vacation or recreational photos while claiming to be seriously injured
• Posting comments about the accident that unintentionally contradict earlier statements 
• Describing injuries as improving too early 
• Joking about the accident
• Allowing friends to tag plaintiffs in misleading posts

It is not necessary to totally abstain from social media after an accident, but the safest approach is to avoid posting on it during the pendency of a personal injury claim. 

Admitting Fault After an Accident

Most drivers know that they should merely ask whether everyone is okay after a car accident rather than saying they are sorry. This is because apologizing, admitting fault to insurance adjusters, or speculating about how things “could have been done differently” can at least partially shift the blame from the party at fault to the injured party. And while under rule, plaintiffs may recover as long as they are less than 50% at fault; any fault-shifting can reduce their recovery. 

Accepting a Settlement Too Early 

Insurance companies often make quick — and inadequate — offers to settle before the full extent of a plaintiff’s injuries is known, and plaintiffs facing medical bills or loss of income may understandably feel pressured to accept. However, once a plaintiff signs a settlement, their legal claim is extinguished. In many cases, plaintiffs can discover too late that the compensation they agreed to does not cover the costs of ongoing medical care, permanent disabilities, or lost earning capacity. A better strategy is to negotiate a more fulsome settlement with the help of a Tifton personal injury lawyer. 

Preserve Your Claim by Working With a Tifton Personal Injury Lawyer 

As you can see, personal injury litigation is a minefield of risks for inexperienced plaintiffs. The best way to preserve your claim so that you will be able to recover the full compensation you deserve is to work with an experienced attorney from the outset. For more information, please contact a Tifton personal injury lawyer at the Hudson Injury Firm by calling 229-396-5848 or using our online form.