Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses Typical Ethical Issues in Personal Injuries

Q:

Will an ethical personal injury lawyer tell me what my case is worth in the first initial consultation phone call?

A:

No highly ethical personal injury lawyer would tell you what your case is worth even after one long phone call, because without reviewing your actual medical records, and sifting through some of the evidence, no lawyer could put a reasonable settlement or verdict range after one phone call. it is true that an experienced personal injury lawyer can tell you whether the liability or fault of a potential party seems solid or not after one phone call, but even that opinion has to be substantiated by looking at evidence. Many times our potential clients ask us what the case is worth early in our first discussion. In my view, it would be extremely poor ethical conduct to state that a case is worth a certain amount of money based on such limited facts. Further, most state lawyer ethics requirements state that attorneys cannot guarantee a specific result or guarantee success. In the best case scenario, a prospective client should have all their main questions answered, should be informed exactly how an attorney will charge for the legal service, and whether the lawyer will “advance” any necessary court costs and expenses.

Q:

Can an ethical personal injury lawyer give me cash for my living expenses right away because I am out of work due to a personal injury?

A:

In many states, including Virginia, it is unethical for a personal injury lawyer to pay for daily living expenses for a client, with the sole exception being for “indigent clients-which is somewhat hard to define. [Note: there are a very small number of states that permit lawyers to make loans or advances. This outline is based mainly on Virginia law practice, but touches on concepts that apply in most states.] However, while most states prohibit ethical personal injury lawyers from making loans for living expenses to a client, an attorney can guide a potential client to a business or loan company that will provide cash or money to a personal injury victim, and the loan usually becomes a claim against the personal injury settlement or verdict. As a matter of fact, in the last five years these companies that loan to personal injury victims have flourished around the United States and many such companies exist. The downside of these types of loans is that the interest rates tend to be fairly significant, and obviously is a whole lot higher than mortgage or car loan interest rates, but these companies are the only ones that will make loans to personal injury victims that are out of work. So, there is a trade off, but a personal injury lawyer can direct a client to one or more of these loan companies to help the client get by while they are suffering losses from a personal injury, such as lost wages, medical expenses, etc.

Q:

I have a prior car accident claim, and I was in second car accident and have new injuries. Must an ethical personal injury lawyer disclose this to the current insurance company?

A:

Some clients are hesitant to tell us about a prior car accident claim whether a year before or 10 years before they are in a new accident that is not their fault. No ethical personal injury lawyer will purposefully commit a fraud or purposefully conceal facts that must be properly disclosed. On the other hand, a personal injury lawyer does not need to disclose, in a written letter to an insurance company, prior to a lawsuit that is pending in court, anything that the personal injury lawyer does feel is relevant to the current car accident case. However, if the question is must a prior car accident claim be disclosed if the case goes into litigation, the answer is that it usually must be disclosed, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, persons who have suffered a second back injury or second injury to the same body part, generally have a more difficult recovery because they have a pre-existing condition from the first or earlier accident. Actually, personal injury lawyers call this an aggravation of a pre-existing condition. It is well known to doctors that a re-injury or aggravation of a prior injury can be a very painful injury that causes chronic problems over many years. In many cases we turn what the client believes is a negative into a positive by showing a re-injury involving pain and significant scarring and this may assist us in obtaining maximum compensation for client.

Q:

I was in a car accident and suffered whiplash type injuries and I did go to a doctor for therapy for my neck just a year ago. Does my lawyer need to tell the insurance company about this, since it was well before this new accident?

A:

Again, the best policy is to disclose everything because an adverse party is entitled to know all issues relating to prior injuries to a part of the body that has been previously injured. Any ethical personal injury lawyer will give appropriate advice to a potential client in that regard—but the main point is that if the case becomes a suit actually filed, this information will need to be disclosed.