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Accidents: 5 Deadly Sins That Could Wreck Your Injury Claim
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by Gerry Oginski
Issues that Can Sink Your Case
Here are what I consider to be the Five Deadly Sins that can wreck your personal injury claim. These sins are based upon my experience and discussions with many judges and jurors.
1. The Client is Referred by the Lawyer to a Doctor
Local judges call this “service” the kiss of death to a claim. The problem is that jurors are highly suspicious of lawyers and doctors who have a referral relationship. While the client may not know how many of that lawyer’s clients have been referred in the last 12 months to a particular doctor, you can bet that the insurance company knows it or will find out about it. How credible do you think that doctor’s testimony will be when the jury finds out that he treated 50 patients from the same lawyer last year? Are there exceptions to this rule? Yes, there are. You may have a very special need for a doctor with a special expertise. It is perfectly legitimate for the attorney to make a suggestion or recommendation. If every client though, is getting referred to the same chiropractor or the same orthopedist, then that is a huge problem. (So beware of the attorney who has a stack of doctor/chiropractor cards in his office. You need to ask the right questions and fully understand the business relationship, if any, between that attorney and the doctor.)
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17 May 2005 by LawKit
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