The Six Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Ohio Auto Accident Case

As a practicing Ohio Auto Accident Lawyer, here are what I consider to be the Six Deadly Sins that can wreck your personal injury claim [there are others but these are the ones I run into most often]. These sins are based upon my 18+ years of experience and discussions with many judges and jurors.

1. The Client is Referred by the Lawyer to a Doctor. This service can be 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?

In one particularly egregious case, an Ohio lawyer partnered with a chiropractor to solicit accident victims, the victim would get a call from the chiropractor and upon going for the exam would then be pressured into hiring this particular attorney as well. In indefinitely suspending the lawyer, the Ohio Supreme Court wrote: “[The lawyer] created [a company which] hired telephone solicitors to call accident victims to inform the victims about their rights, including receiving medical care and legal representation. In reality, [the company] attempted to steer business to [the chiropractor] and [the lawyer]. [The lawyer] paid [the company] $1,075 per month for this service.”
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 that suggestion/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, it any, between that attorney and the doctor.)

2. Hiding Past Accidents From Your Lawyer. Once you begin a case, the other side will be interested in knowing how many past accidents you have been in. The reality is that they probably already know the answer or have easy access to that information.

Most insurance companies subscribe to databases that compile EVERY insurance claim you have made. Thus, often the only reason the ask you about past claims is to test your credibility.

If you have been in other accidents, your lawyer can investigate these and make a determination as to whether this is a valid problem in your case or not.

If you do not disclose these to your lawyer, however, and you misrepresent your accident history to the insurance company, then it is almost guaranteed that you will lose your case. (One former client told us that she didn’t think she needed to disclose prior accidents to us, or to her treating surgeon, because “it didn’t matter.” The insurance company already knew and when both I and the doctor learned about these accidents, the case was lost because it was too late to undo the damage created from the failure to disclose. This failure to disclose cost our client a significant amount of money).

If you are not 100% honest with me, you can’t expect me to get 100% of your case’s value.

3. Hiding Other Injuries. It goes without saying that you should be up front and
honest with your attorney about any injuries that occurred before or after this accident. Again, if you saw a doctor or other healthcare provider, then there is a record in existence that the insurance company will find. Your lawyer can deal with this if he knows about it. If you lie about it, and the insurance company finds out, then your case is over.

4. Not Having Accurate Tax Returns. In almost every case, a claimant will have
lost income because of the accident. You will only be able to claim that lost income if your past tax returns are pristine. You don’t want to risk going to jail by claiming a loss of income, only to have your past tax returns not back up your claim.

Again, being honest with your attorney is the only way to be, because he or she can deal with the problem if they know about it.

5. Misrepresenting Your Activity Level. Insurance companies routinely hire
private investigators to conduct videotape surveillance. lf you claim that you cannot run, climb or stoop, and you get caught on videotape, you can forget about your claim. There is no explanation (other than “you got my brother, not me”) that can overcome the eye of the camera.

6. Being your own lawyer even after you have hired a lawyer. The whole point of this book is to give you the informational tools you need to make the best hiring decision when choosing an attorney.

You should not hire an attorney you do not trust.

However, once you hire a lawyer, the trust must be there in order for the attorney to represent you effectively. This does not mean that you must do everything the attorney tells you to do but it does mean that you should listen to and respect the decision of the attorney whom you trusted to hire.

In my practice, if I learn that a client is really a “frustrated lawyer” I tell them to go elsewhere. I have worked too long and too hard to obtain my law license and to learn my craft, to let anyone tell me how many witnesses to call, what pleadings to file, how to engage in settlement talks or how to try a case in front of a jury. Again, I always consult with my clients so that they are informed. However, too many lawyers will do what their clients tell them to, even if it is wrong to do. Would you tell your surgeon how to perform an operation?

As the Ohio Supreme Court recognized, “All too often we have observed members of the profession, not only solo practitioners, but also salaried corporate counsel, members of small and large firms, and government attorneys, operating as “hired guns,” acting solely at the direction of their employers or clients and neglecting their duty to counsel their clients. Neither the position of an attorney as an employee, nor the pressure to retain a client in a competitive legal environment, can justify an attorney’s abdication of the duty of counselling.” (1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 444