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Following are several actions you should be careful with following an accident and after you've hired New York accident lawyers to represent you in court. If you fail to heed these guidelines you will ultimately hurt your New York injury attorney's chances at obtaining a favorable outcome for you and your family.

1. Calling a Lawyer Before You Visit the Doctor. How serious could an injury be if your first concern is a lawsuit rather than medical attention? A defense attorney worth his salt is going to jump on this if he discovers that you hired a Long Island personal injury attorney before going to a doctor.

2. Not Going to a Medical Doctor Sure, there are plenty of good chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, holistic healers, massage therapists and others in the healing profession who can help you. For legal purposes, however, the medical doctor and anything he recommends or reports has much more bearing on the case than any other member of the medical industry. Ultimately, it is a lawyer's job to present your case in court in order to persuade six jurors that your injuries are real. Testimony from a medical doctor is persuasive; testimony from your chiropractor is not.

3. Always, Always, Always Take Photos! Remember to take as many pictures as possible of the accident. With every cell phone having a camera on it these days, it's relatively easy for you or someone with you to get photos of the accident. In the same vein, take plenty of pictures of your injury over time as it heals. It's impossible to have too many pictures. The automobile accident attorney you hire will never complain of having too many. The only lawyer you'll hear complaining is the one on the other side whose client has to pay out more because you gave your attorney plenty of ammunition. The jury wants to see how the accident happened and what occurred following it. Seeing is believing, after all.

4. Record Statements at the Scene of the Accident. Call an ambulance if you've been hurt. If you're uninjured, try to speak to the others involved. If the other driver appears to be intoxicated or is being apologetic, record whatever he says. Record the condition of your respective vehicles. Look for possible driver distractions such as food, drink, cosmetics, reading material, etc. Ask for the cell phone number of the phone they have with them at the scene of the accident. Record the exact time of the accident. Never give your health anything but top priority! If you're injured, get another to gather all of the mentioned information. Once the ambulance arrives, go with them without delay and get to the hospital. Don't even consider getting in touch with a car wreck lawyer until after you're undergoing treatment.

5. Miss Follow Up Medical Appointments. The amount of money you receive depends entirely upon the severity of your injury. The seriousness of injuries you sustained is determined by three factors: first, the pain of the injury itself. Any permanent effects of the injury will be the second factor, and these include such items as scarring, limited range of motion, total dismemberment, and so forth. Economic impact is the third factor, and this includes items such as lost wages or a lost job, damage to the property, etc. The economic damages are easy to calculate. However, evaluating the severity of the injury is nearly impossible without comprehensive medical records. Your credibility suffers if you claim a severe injury but fail to follow up with medical experts with regards to treatment.

6. When In Doubt, Clam Up. Remember that discretion is the better part of valor. Do not give statements to insurance adjusters no matter how helpful, friendly or kind these people appear to be. They try to talk to you directly in order to undermine your case. They'll take down everything you tell them. That's why the less you say the better off you are.

7. Don't Fake an Injury. Faking your injuries or trying to make them appear worse than they are is a horrible practice. The jury expects proof when a specific injury is claimed. If not, the defense attorney will hang it around your neck for the entire trial. All of your injuries from then on will be brought into question, even the ones with substantial proof to back them up. Your motor vehicle accident lawyer's job just became more difficult than before.

The law offices of Charles R. Gueli provide some of the best New York accident lawyers available. Go to their website and get a Long Island personal injury attorney to assist you today.

Tags: automobile accident attorney, Long Island personal injury attorney, New York accident lawyers, New York injury attorney