Welcome to I Do Not Want to Be Your Lawyer, a website written by a lawyer that provides legal (and practical) advice to plaintiffs in personal injury cases. Some of this advice will be useful to anyone involved in any type of lawsuit, but the primary focus of the site is personal injury lawsuits.
Unlike most lawyers who operate legal information websites, I have no interest in representing you (don’t even bother asking). The advice I give, while useful, is often general and is not intended to replace the advice of your actual lawyer. I am not your lawyer. Therefore, we do not have any type of attorney-client relationship. My ass now being sufficiently covered, below are links to all of the articles on the site, organized by topic.
Medical Treatment After an Accident
- What is Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)?
- Letter of Protection — Delay Medical Bills Until Settlement
- Should You See a Chiropractor?
- Medical Bills – Are You Paying Too Much?
Trying to Settle Your Own Case
- Want to Settle Your Own Accident Claim? Part 1 – Should You?
- Want to Settle Your Own Accident Claim? Part 2 – Prep Work
- Want to Settle Your Own Accident Claim? Part 3 – The Demand
Hiring/Firing a Personal Injury Lawyer
- How to Choose a Lawyer – 2 Revealing Questions To Ask
- Why Won’t Any Lawyer Take My Case?
- Can I Fire My Lawyer? Yes, But You May Still Have to Pay Him
- My Lawyer and Opposing Counsel Are Friends – Should I Worry?
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum or Lawyers Gone Wild?
- Lawyer Win/Loss Records — Why You Can’t Find Them
Communicating With Your Lawyer’s Office
- Lawyer Not Returning Your Phone Calls? Advice From a Lawyer
- 5 Things You Need to Tell Your Lawyer
- Why You Should Be Nice to the Paralegal on Your Case
Why Personal Injury Cases Take So Long
Things You Should Not Do if You Have a Personal Injury Claim
- Lawsuit Loans – Use Only if You Absolutely Have To
- 5 Ways To Be An Annoying Personal Injury Client
- How Facebook Can Ruin Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
- Seven Deadly Sins for Plaintiffs
Automobile Accident Issues
- Automobile Property Damage Claims — Representing Yourself
- Bad Driving Record Evidence in Civil Suits
- Gap Insurance: What is It and Who Needs It?
- Why You Should Have Uninsured/Underinsured (UM) Motorist Insurance
Discovery (Deposition, Interrogatories, etc.) in Personal Injury Cases
- How to Answer Interrogatories
- The Plaintiff’s Deposition — Be Smart and Be Prepared
- How to Give a Deposition — 5 Deposition Tips
- Can My Lawyer Help Me Answer Deposition Questions?
- Why Did the Defense Attorney Ask Me for That?
- Whose Depositions Should You Attend?
- IME – The (not so) Independent Medical Exam
- Something You Can (and Should) Do That Your Lawyer Cannot
Settlement, Mediation and the Value of your Case
- How Much is My Lawsuit Worth?
- Mediation Advice for Personal Injury Plaintiffs
- Should I Settle or Go to Trial?
- Bad Faith — Collecting More Than Policy Limits
- Question From Reader Rachel About Inadequate Insurance By Defendant
- Paying Back Your Health Insurer – A Necessary Evil
- Paying Back Medicare After a Lawsuit
- Could $10 Save You Hundreds or Thousands on Your Settlement?
- How Long After Settlement Before I Get Paid?
- Attorney Costs — Reviewing Your Own Lawyer’s Bill
- Unhappy With Your Settlement and Want to Get Out of It?
- Can I Settle With Just One Defendant?
- When a Defendant Admits Fault, That’s Only Half the Battle
- Loss of Consortium Claim — Worth the Bother?
- Why Lawyers Pressure Clients to Settle
- How Does a Settlement Affect Social Security Benefits?
Trial
- How To Testify At Trial
- Jury Trial Crisis — Why So Few Cases are Going to Trial
- What Happens If I Lose My Lawsuit?
Legal Malpractice
Why Tort Reform is Bad for the Little Guy
- Hot Coffee – HBO’s Must-See Documentary About Tort Reform
- Frivolous Medical Malpractice Suits – Lies and Distortions
Off-Topic, But Still Useful, Information
Site Comment Policy, Avatars and Shameless Request for “Likes” and “+1s”
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If you are a social networker and one or more of my articles helped you, please give them a Facebook “Like”, Google “+1” or any other kind of social share. Buttons and a share bar are located at the bottom of every article. Social shares get me more visitors, which encourages me to keep writing articles. Thanks!
Article Comments and Avatars
Comments on my articles are welcome and appreciated. I will answer questions if I am able, usually within 24 hours (please — no workers’ comp questions — that’s not my bag). Comments are moderated, meaning that I must approve them before everyone else can see them. This is done primarily to combat spambots. So far I have approved all legitimate comments (even the few negative ones), so rest assured that your comments will be posted. While my comment field asks you for an e-mail address, I won’t e-mail or spam you, or give your e-mail address to anyone else (you can use a real e-mail address without worry on this site). The e-mail address you use will not be posted to the site, so it won’t be visible to other readers. I advise against using your real full name when commenting (first names, nicknames or “handles” are fine).
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I hope you find the site useful. Thanks for visting! — fl_litig8r
