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Why Your Personal Injury Attorney Will Request That You Cease Contact With The Other Party

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Following an injury, it's common to have a series of discussions with the party that you believe was negligent in your accident. For example, if you slipped and fell in a gym, you might go back and forth with the gym owner about the status of your injury — and he or she may make some financial offers to you. If your injury has worsened or you've otherwise decided to hire a personal injury attorney, it's common for him or her to ask that you stop communicating with the other party once you've signed legal representation paperwork. Here are some reasons why. 

You Could Divulge Something Confidential

Your personal injury attorney knows that certain details of your case can be powerful, and he or she won't want the other party to know about them until the time is right. The attorney may be concerned that if you continue to communicate with the other party, you'll accidentally divulge something that is important to your case. This can give the other party a chance to react, thus strengthening its case. For example, if you say something such as, "My case is strong, but I still need to get the security footage from your building," the other party may delete this footage.

Correspondence Should Be Documented

As soon as you obtain legal representation in your case, things get more serious. As such, your attorney will want to document each of the times that your side and the other side have corresponded. For example, your attorney may have sent a settlement offer over, and the other side may have sent back a counter. Your attorney will formally list each of these communications, but doing so will be challenging if you're calling or dropping in on the other party from time to time.

You Could Get Mixed Messages

Your personal injury attorney is ethically committed to representing you the best that he or she can and thus doesn't want the process to be more difficult than it already might be. If you're communicating with the other party, you may get mixed messages. For example, the other party might offer a clandestine settlement with you and tell you that you don't need to be so formal as to have an attorney working for you. This can lead you to question your attorney, which will only get in the way of him or her representing you.


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