Interviewer: What are some things that people do unintentionally that hurt their ability to win money when they have been involved in a motorcycle accident?
Other Than Your Lawyer and Your Doctor, You Should Not be talking to Anyone Following a Motorcycle Accident
Rochford and Associates: The one thing that they do unintentionally is talking to the at-fault insurance company, allowing them to record their statement, really telling them too much, and giving them too much information. Another thing that they do that they shouldn’t be doing and that they think it’s okay is that they’ll sign medical authorizations with the at-fault insurance company, allowing the at-fault insurance company to order all of their medical records.
That’s something that I never allow because I want to be the one in control of ordering medical records for my client at a later time, after my client has had treatment. There may be some things in the records that I don’t want the insurance company to know about. I don’t want the insurance company to have an authorization that allows the insurance company to order past medical records that may show previous injuries or that may show things about my client, like psychiatric treatment or other treatment that my client has had that is none of the business of the insurance company and is not relevant to the case.
A lot of people inadvertently sign written documents that authorize the insurance company to order their medical records, and they’re basically giving up the rights to privacy by doing that. That’s a major thing.
People Tend To Delay Their Treatment Assuming They Will Get Better
As I said before, they also either delay their treatment thinking it’ll be okay, or they get the wrong treatment. They don’t follow up like they should. Those are all things that I, as their attorney, can help them with. I’m not just a lawyer that signs an agreement that I’m going to collect a fee at the end; I’m the type of lawyer that wants to be there to coach my client along the way, to make sure that my client gets the proper advice and treatment and follow-up that the client should get.
An Attorney Can Guide You To The Right Direction And Help You Take Only Steps That You Should
My role as a coach is to coach my client and lead my client in the right direction, and that may be what type of medical care the client should be getting, the frequency, what he should be doing concerning the insurance companies, and what documents he should be signing. I’m there every step of the way to advise him as to what he should be doing so he doesn’t make any of these mistakes.