When you hire a lawyer to represent you in a personal injury case, your lawyer has certain duties to you. In addition to providing you with confidentiality and competent representation, your lawyer also has the duty to avoid conflicts of interest, charge reasonable fees, and keep you informed about the status of your legal matter. The obligations between a lawyer and client, however, are not a one-way street. Clients also have a duty to their lawyer to cooperate in the conduct of their case.
A client’s duty to cooperate with their lawyer essentially means that a client is obligated to reasonably assist the lawyer with aspects of the case. This duty to cooperate can manifest in a number of different ways and can specifically involve the duties to:
(1) Disclose all relevant facts regarding the case – What is considered to be ‘relevant’ to the case will vary according to the nature of the incident and the claim. For example, relevant facts for an auto collision case could include information regarding the date, location, involved parties, and suspected causes of a car crash.
(2) Not lie to your lawyer – Lies include misinformation, as well as omissions of relevant information to the case.
(3) Provide all the information and documentation required by your lawyer – Such information and documentation can include evidence you have gathered (like crash scene photos), correspondence you have received from an insurance company, and/or your medical bills for treating your injuries.
(4) Notify your lawyer of any change of address, phone number, email, etc. – This aspect of cooperation is meant to ensure that your lawyer can easily contact you regarding the case whenever necessary.
(5) Not do anything that may hurt the case – Destroying evidence for a case, providing damaging statements to the opposing side, and/or discussing the case on social media are a few ways that a client may hurt their case.
(6) Respond to your lawyer - Clients get upset when their lawyer doesn’t return phone calls. And lawyers feel the same way. If you don’t return your lawyer’s phone calls, emails, or letters promptly, you're not just wasting your lawyer's time, you could also be hurting your case.
(7) Attend all medical appointments and follow your doctors' advice - Your health care providers will note any appointment that you miss, and, if you miss too many or if you don't follow your doctors' advice about treatment, the insurer adjuster (or the jury) is going to assume that you must not have been hurt as badly as you claim. This will cost you money. Be sure to keep all of your appointments and follow your health care providers' advice.
( Cooperate in the discovery process - If you end up filing a personal injury lawsuit, the defendant will send your lawyer written questions called interrogatories, as well as document requests. Your lawyer will send these on to you. You will need to promptly answer the interrogatories and provide your lawyer with the requested documents, or your case could be dismissed. Help your lawyer, and help yourself. Respond to all discovery as quickly as you can. Also, practice for your deposition. Your deposition is a very important step in your case. Your lawyer is there to help you prepare, to offer guidance during the proceedings, and even step in if the other side is taking a questionable approach. Follow your lawyer's advice and recommendations.
(9) Don’t (always) blame your lawyer. - Personal injury clients who are annoyed that their case isn’t going well will often turn on their lawyer and say that it must be the lawyer’s fault. Some things are indeed a lawyer’s fault, and any client needs to be attuned to that. But some problems that arise in personal injury cases are the client’s fault, and other obstacles are no one’s fault. Some personal injury cases just aren’t that strong (meaning there's little or no chance of reaching a favorable outcome). Don’t blame the messenger if your lawyer brings bad news. It's not going to help your case.
The primary reason that a client has this duty to cooperate with their lawyer is to foster effective legal representation. When a client overlooks this duty, they can be sabotaging their lawyer and compromising the case.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto collision caused by another’s negligence, contact us at 253.858.5434 to set up an appointment for a free consultation today.