Are Women More Likely Than Men to Retain a Personal Injury Attorney? Auto Accidents, Injury Law

I have more female clients, injured clients, come in and hire me than male injured clients. The best reason that I can come up with is women are willing to reach out for help more than men are. They’re willing to admit that they can’t do this thing on their own. They’re willing to admit that they don’t have the skills or the experience or the capability to handle their own injury claim.

Which Gender Is More Prone to Admit They Need Help?

Men, we’re just macho by nature. We men tend to think that we can do anything. We can handle our own case. We don’t need a lawyer. We tend to not get the treatment that we need because we’re going to tough it out.

Do Men Tend to Downplay Their Injuries?

Some men think that they’re being wimps if they go get the treatment. Men do harm their cases a lot more frequently than women. They’re not willing to hire lawyers. The general statement, they’re not willing to hire lawyers as often as women because they’re not willing to admit they need help. They’re not even willing to admit that they’re injured very badly.

Oftentimes, if a man comes in to hire me, his wife accompanies him and he’s coming because the wife has pushed him to go hire the lawyer. The wife intuitively knows that he needs the help and has kind of badgered him a little bit. I don’t want to use the word “nagging,” but the wife intuitively knows that he can’t handle this on his own even though he thinks he can. She is the one that’s influenced him to come in, which is to his benefit, obviously.

A Woman Is More Likely to Share the Details of Her Condition

Interviewer: Do women suffer more injury in accidents than men?

Rochford and Associates: In the same type of impact, men and women both suffer from injuries. I can’t say one suffers more than the other. Again, women are more willing to share and reach out. Women are more willing to tell you what’s hurting them than men.

Why Is It Important to Disclose How You Feel to Your Physician or Therapist?

For instance, when I have a client come in, I always remind them that when they go to the doctor, go to a therapist, every time they go in I want them to tell the doctor, the therapist all of their complaints, since the last time they saw their doctor or therapist. Not just how they’re feeling today, but how they’ve been feeling since the last time.

The Medical Care Provider Documents Details of Your Treatment, Recovery or Lack of Recovery That Later Can Be Used to Settle a Personal Injury Case

There are some people, men especially, that just won’t share how they’re feeling. I want them to share because if they share with the doctor what their complaints are and what their problems are, hopefully that doctor or therapist will put those complaints in the written records that we have to order later on and rely on when we try to settle our case.

When my injured clients have completed treatment, my office orders all of the medical records. When we receive them, we review all the records and determine what records need to go to the insurance company.

The Records Must Completely Account for Your Condition after an Accident

Well, we live or die by what’s in those records. If I have an injured client that has been treating for 12 months or 18 months or whatever amount of time, if after that period of time they’re still complaining of pain or other problems, if the records don’t reflect that, if they’ve told the therapist or the doctor that they’re feeling pretty good or they’re feeling fine, then we have to go with what’s in the record.

I cannot argue to the insurance company, “Well, the record say they’re fine, but they’re really not.” I mean, it’s important that they tell the doctor everything that’s going on, all their complaints. Again, women are better at conveying that information, communicating that information to their doctors.

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