Accurate Medical Assessment Is Important In Court
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
The first thing you should do in any automobile accident where injuries are involved is, of course, to take care of the injuries themselves. This means getting an accurate diagnosis of exactly what the problems are, and appropriate treatment for the types of injuries sustained, whether that is treatment for a traumatic brain injury, or the setting of broken bones to heal in a cast.But if you’re in a situation where you’re injured and someone else is at fault, it’s not fair or right to expect you or your insurance company to pay for the expensive medical treatments required. If someone else caused the injury, it is their responsibility to make things right.
And on your side, it is important for you to ensure that what is made right is exactly what you require and not more than that, otherwise you are committing a crime.
The Fallacy Of Soft Fraud
“Hard fraud” is the act of deliberately trying to create a situation where a person either becomes injured, or, more commonly, fakes an injury in the hopes of getting money from a lawsuit or insurance claim. However, this takes a lot of time, planning and effort to succeed at, and so is not that widespread.
On the other hand, “soft fraud” is, unfortunately, much more common. This is when an accident has legitimately occurred, but the people injured—or the property damaged—have the extent of the damage exaggerated in the hopes of getting more money.
Resist The Temptation
It’s easy to see how many people, after getting a car damaged, or even sustaining an injury can, in the hours and days after the incident, see this as an opportunity. After all, if you already know that your injury or car/property damage is legitimate and you’re going to rightfully get money anyway, why not use this possible, once-in-a-lifetime-chance to get a little bit more? You’re not actually lying, you’re just exaggerating. That’s how many people justify it in their minds.
Every professional, ethical attorney—including the personal injury lawyers in St. Petersburg—will strongly urge you not to do this. It is not just unethical to exaggerate claims for more money, it is also illegal. If you are caught attempting to do this, especially if it is in a personal injury trial, not only will you not get the money you were originally, legally due, you will be charged. Fraud is a criminal offense, and you can go from being a legitimate victim that is rightfully owed financial compensation to being a convict with a third degree felony, for fraud amounts of less than $20000. If the amount you were trying to claim is higher than that, you could be charged with second or first degree felony, in addition to the criminal record you will now hold.
This is why, if you find yourself a situation where you have a legitimate personal injury claim to make in court, you should stick with the facts. No reputable doctor or personal injury lawyer will ever ask you to consider exaggerating an injury, nor will they cooperate with you to do so for a case. It’s important to get what you are due, but just as important to not get greedy about it.