How to Be a Good Client: Helping Your Lawyer Win Your Case

After you’ve been in a serious car accident, hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer is the most important step you can take to protect your rights. You hand over the stress of dealing with insurance companies and the legal system to a professional. But the relationship with your attorney is not a one-way street. It is a partnership.

While your lawyer is the legal expert, you are the expert on the facts of your case and how the injuries have impacted your life. The strength of your case—and the ultimate settlement you receive—often depends on how well you and your attorney work together as a team.

Being a “good client” doesn’t mean being quiet; it means being a proactive, responsive, and honest partner in your own recovery. By fulfilling a few key responsibilities, you can provide your attorney with the tools they need to build the strongest possible case on your behalf.

Useful Information for You: In a Nutshell

• Be 100% Honest: Your lawyer is your confidant. You must be completely truthful with them about everything, including your medical history and the facts of the accident.
• Follow Your Doctor’s Orders: The most important thing you can do for both your health and your case is to follow your prescribed medical treatment plan without fail.
• Be a Good Record-Keeper: Keep a detailed journal of your pain and suffering, and save every bill, receipt, and document related to your accident.
• Stay Off Social Media: Do not post anything about your accident, your injuries, or your activities while your case is ongoing.
• Be Patient and Responsive: Understand that the legal process takes time, and respond promptly when your legal team needs information from you.

1. Be Completely Honest About Everything

Your attorney is bound by attorney-client privilege, which means your conversations are confidential. They are on your side. You must be completely honest with them about every detail, even the parts that you think might be bad for your case.

• The Accident: Tell them exactly what happened, without embellishing or hiding any of your own actions.
• Your Medical History: You must disclose any pre-existing conditions or prior injuries. A good lawyer is not afraid of a pre-existing condition; they know how to handle it. Hiding it will destroy your credibility if the insurance company discovers it later.

2. Your #1 Job: Follow Your Doctor’s Treatment Plan

This is the most critical thing you can do to help your case. When a doctor prescribes physical therapy, a specialist visit, or medication, you must follow through.

• Attend All Appointments: Skipping appointments creates “gaps in treatment,” which is the number one reason insurance companies use to devalue claims.
• It Proves Your Injury: Your consistent medical treatment is the best proof of the severity and reality of your injuries and your commitment to recovery.

3. Keep Meticulous Records

Your lawyer will handle the official documents, but your personal records are invaluable.

• Keep a Pain and Suffering Journal: As we’ve discussed, a daily journal that details your physical pain, your emotional state, and the impact on your daily life is powerful evidence.
• Keep an Expense Folder: Save every single bill, receipt, and explanation of benefits related to the accident, from prescription co-pays to the cost of parking at the doctor’s office.

4. Stay Off Social Media

In a personal injury case, social media is your enemy. Insurance companies will hire investigators to scrutinize your public profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. They are looking for any photo or post they can take out of context to argue that you aren’t as injured as you claim. The safest policy is to stop posting until your case is completely resolved.

5. Be Patient and Responsive

A car accident case is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be long periods where it seems like nothing is happening. This is normal. During these quiet times, your lawyer is working behind the scenes. Trust the process. When your legal team does reach out to you for information or a document, respond as quickly and completely as you can. Your prompt cooperation helps keep your case moving forward.

By being an engaged and responsible partner, you empower your attorney to fight for you more effectively. If you’ve been injured in a car accident in the Tacoma area and are ready to find a legal partner, search the Car Accident Lawyer Directory Tacoma. Compare profiles and find a trusted local attorney who can guide you through this process.

References

• Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) – The Attorney-Client Relationship:A consumer pamphlet from the WSBA that explains the rights and responsibilities of both the client and the attorney in a legal engagement.

  https://www.wsba.org/docs/default-source/news-public/publications/pamphlets/the-attorney-client-relationship-2015.pdf

• Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) – RPC 1.4 – Communication:The official ethics rule, which highlights the cooperative nature of communication between a lawyer and client.

  https://www.wsba.org/for-legal-professionals/rules-of-professional-conduct/rpc-1-4