In a personal injury case (or a lot of other types of cases), the law requires the Plaintiff to mitigate his or her own damages. What does this mean?
It basically means that the plaintiff has an obligation to try and make his/her situation better. Even if you are injured and it is someone else’s fault, a very common defense you will come across is that the plaintiff failed to mitigate their own damages. This can look like a lot of things and can reduce the value of your claim, sometimes significantly. It can be failing to wear a seatbelt, or failing to follow up on medical care, or refusing to do recommended treatment, or having a large gap in medical care. It can be failing to find a different job if you can no longer do your old one, or failing to return to work when release to do so by your doctor. It might look like staying in a rental car longer than necessary, or renting a fancier car than what was lost.
If you are in an accident, it is important you get follow up medical care, try and live your life to the best of your ability, try to go back to work or find a new job, have a plan B. Accidents can absolutely shake up your world and knock you off track. They can be devastating. But if you want to see the full value of your claim, it’s important you do what you can to help yourself and try to pick up the pieces as best you can.
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