If you want to win your personal injury lawsuit, you need to prove negligence. For example, if you were involved in a car accident, negligence can include distracted driving, impairment, exhaustion, aggression, and excessive speed.
Negligence on a job site can include being issued damaged safety equipment, leaving deliveries in the middle of a walkway, and failing to secure dangerous areas.
It’s easy to identify negligence on your own. Proving negligence, however, will require an attorney’s help.
Have you been injured in an accident and are looking for tips to win your case? Here’s how you can improve your chances of proving negligence.
1. Get legal representation
The importance of having legal representation can’t be stressed enough. If you try to represent yourself in a personal injury case, you’re sure to lose. You’ll be up against experienced prosecutors, judges who lack patience, and a court system that is almost impossible to navigate without experience.
Don’t risk losing your case. Secure a personal injury attorney immediately. An experienced personal injury attorney will know exactly how to present your case to a judge or jury to get you the maximum compensation you deserve.
2. Be truthful about everything
Truth is important in a personal injury case. Don’t talk yourself into exaggerating or fibbing just to avoid what you believe might be a potentially bad outcome. It’s better to fight harder to prove your case than to lie about the circumstances.
When a judge or jury finds that a victim has lied in a personal injury lawsuit, they automatically become less credible. Don’t risk being seen as less credible. If you’re concerned about something, discuss the issue with your lawyer. Honesty is always the best policy.
3. Contemplate breach of duty
If you’ve lawyered up, you won’t need to do the hard work to prove breach of duty, but it’s good to think about and understand this concept in terms of your accident. Once you understand breach of duty and its relationship to proving negligence, you might be able to provide additional evidence to your attorney that will help your case.
For example, say you were injured at night when another employee hit you with a company vehicle on a job site. Say that employee didn’t see you because your safety vest was worn and the reflective strips were in poor condition.
If you are required to maintain your own safety equipment, you might not think there was a breach of duty. However, if your boss previously talked to you about your vest and told you to get another one, yet still allowed you to work knowing your vest was inadequate, they could still be found negligent.
Think about what breach of duty means relative to your situation and see if you can recall any conversations or incidents that might support your case.
4. Go through all required company procedures
If you were injured on the job, make sure you file all the proper reports and paperwork. Most businesses require employees to report every injury, including simple paper cuts. Don’t skip your company’s written procedure for reporting injuries.
Even if you have already filed a workers’ compensation claim and your boss knows about your injury, find out what the current company policy is and follow through.
If you don’t follow company policy, it will make you look bad in court. The judge or jury might wonder why you didn’t follow policy, and it might make them wonder if you’re telling the whole truth about your injury.
5. Gather witness statements
Witness statements can be crucial in proving negligence. Gather as many witness statements as you can get. They don’t all need to be statements from people who witnessed your injury.
Other than direct witnesses to your accident, the most important statements will come from people who can confirm allegations about safety oversights, and unsafe situations that have been ignored.
Be patient – personal injury lawsuits can take time
Above all, be patient with your attorney and the legal process. It takes time to prepare and present a case, and it can take even longer to receive your first settlement check after you win.
Be patient with the process and trust that your lawyer is doing things right. Your lawyer is the only chance you have at winning your case. Be kind, patient, and helpful throughout your case. Your attorney can’t win your case without your full cooperation. Create a mutually respectful relationship with your attorney for the best chance at winning your injury lawsuit.