Some claimants who interview personal injury attorneys attempt to hide the fact that they have been in prior accidents or had prior injuries. This is always a bad idea.

In order for your attorney to give you the best possible advice about your claim you must divulge the good the bad and the ugly. Let your attorney be in the best position to figure out a strategy for handling these facts. They may not hurt your case at all but attempting to hide the facts or to hide the truth in any way is always a bad idea.

Remember, the insurance companies have access to huge databases of information about you. If there has ever been a claim paid to you for an injury or even for property damage they will find it. If they find that you are not being truthful with information you give them then neither they nor any jury will ever believe you.

Just because a potential client calls our office and reports that they had been in a car accident does not mean that we will represent them. Sometimes the best advice we can give is that you do not have a claim that can be won. This is true. We are not magicians. If you caused the accident or, in Virginia, if you were in any small way responsible for the accident, you cannot recover.

If you have no injury (good news) and what is the sense of filing insurance claim or pursuing a lawsuit? I’m still surprised at how many people will: attorney wanting “something for nothing.” We routinely turn these cases away.