YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM
SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER

WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO RECOVER

1. Reasonable charges for necessary medical and/or chiropractic treatment. The key words here are �reasonable� and �necessary�. If you feel that you are receiving unnecessary treatment, or your doctor�s charges are too much, do not hesitate to discuss this with the doctor. Chances are, (s)he is charging reasonable fees for necessary treatment, but you have the right to know. If you get an unsatisfactory answer, please call me to discuss the matter. I can often clear the matter up with a call to the doctor.

On the other hand, if you feel you are not receiving adequate treatment, you should discuss this with your doctor. If you do not receive a satisfactory response, you should let us know. It is your physical condition in question, and it is you who must live with the consequences of your treatment.

2. Lost income, and if your injuries are more serious, loss of wage earning capacity. Lost income can be documented by a letter from your doctor advising you to stay off work, and a letter from your employer setting out the amount of lost time and lost income. If you were not working at the time of the accident, you will need written documentation of job offers you received but were unable to accept due to your injuries.

3. Out-of-pocket expenses. These may include tuition for school which you were unable to attend due to the accident, etc. These must be documented in writing.

4. Physical and mental pain and suffering. To our thinking, this includes the aggravation you have gone through in getting the car fixed, your frustration at not being able to do certain things you could do in the past, etc.

5. If the other driver was drunk, or left the scene, or was driving in an extremely reckless manner, you may be entitled to �exemplary damages.�

6. If you are married, you spouse may have a claim for �loss of consortium� (i.e.,loss of love and affection, including sexual relations) or �loss of services�, if (s)he is required to spend an inordinate amount of time doing things generally done by you. Unless your injuries are serious, these claims are generally not worth pursuing.

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO

1. Make all scheduled visits to your doctor, therapist, or other health care provider. If you do not do so, the insurance company is not likely to take your claim very seriously. Also, your doctor may charge you for missed visits, which is entirely appropriate, since (s)he had set aside time for you, and thus was unable to see other patients. The insurance company is not required to pay for missed visits. Thus, these charges will come from your share of any settlement or judgment.

2. COMPLY WITH ALL REASONABLE INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOUR DOCTOR, EVEN IF YOU FIND THEM UNPLEASANT OR INCONVENIENT.
If you do not, the insurance company may determine that some of your care was brought about by your own actions, and thus not necessary. If you believe that your doctor is telling you to do something you should not do, you should seek a second opinion.

3. Promptly advise our office of any changes in the following:

1. Your treating doctor. We also need to know if your treating doctor send you out to another provider for treatment.
2. Your address and telephone number.
3. Your treatment status. Doctors generally advise us when your treatment is finished, but not always. Let us know immediately when you are released from care.

4. Advise us if you choose to use major medical benefits to pay for treatment. Most major medical carriers are �subrogated�, that is, they are entitled to be reimbursed from your settlement or judgment. Often, if we know in time, we can work with them to obtain a reduction in the amount you must repay.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO

1. Do not seek legal advice from your relatives, friends, and neighbors. If you feel that you have been given bad advice, you should feel free to seek a second opinion from another personal injury attorney. There is certainly no shortage of good personal injury attorneys in Austin.
2. Do not compare your case to prior cases involving your friends, especially if those cases involved accidents in another state or part of Texas. Each case is different, and the results obtained in Austin may be vastly different from those obtained in the Rio Grande Valley or in California.
3. Do not attempt to rush things. We understand economic pressures, and the general desire to put bad things behind us, but once your claim is settled, you will have to live with the results for the rest of your life. Wait until the medical results are in before you attempt to settle your claim.
4. Do not hesitate to call me if you have questions relating to your case.