Welcome to Gosdis Law

Thank you for choosing our firm to handle your personal injury matter. Now that you are represented by a lawyer, it is extremely important that you not discuss this matter with anyone other than our office and not sign anything relating to your case without our authorization. If anyone contacts you about your case, please refer them to our office.

Insurance companies do not pay money willingly. The insurance company can be expected to thoroughly investigate the facts of the incident; the claim for medical treatment; and any past injuries or claims. It may hire investigators to observe your movements and actions to determine the true nature of your injuries and what type of physical activities you are capable of performing.

Please inform us of any changes in your address and telephone number. You should also keep us informed of your treatment with physicians, chiropractors, and other health care providers you are seeing because of this incident. If you receive any medical bills or related information at home, please forward them to our office to put in your file.

Please advise us of if you participate in forms of social media. It is very important that you not discuss your case, the incident, or your injuries on social media because the site operators can be forced to provide your personal information to the attorneys on the other side, potentially negatively affecting the outcome of your case.

PROTECTING COMMUNICATION AND PRESERVING EVIDENCE

Please protect all communications with our firm so that they do not fall into the wrong hands and hurt you or your case. Do not use workplace devices or systems—including computers, IPADS, office telephones, cellular telephones—for any communications with our firm. The same rule applies to all devices or methods of communication that may not be strictly confidential, including devices, systems, and accounts that are controlled by, or shared with, any other person.

It is important that you search for, collect, and preserve all documents and data in your possession that may be relevant to this case. Do not sell or otherwise dispose of your vehicle or any evidence associated with your case. As a party to this case, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that all documents and data, whether paper or electronic, are properly preserved for the duration of the case. This means that you may not discard, delete, or otherwise modify any document or data that may be relevant to this case. It is essential that you take all reasonable steps to prevent the automatic, intentional, or accidental destruction of any documents or data that may be relevant to this case. Failure to comply with these preservation obligations can have serious consequences that may affect the case’s outcome. It is critical that you retain all such evidence. If you do not, the insurance company could potentially seek sanctions and/or dismissal of your case.

It is important to note that electronic data cannot be preserved merely by printing. Electronic data must be preserved in whatever form it exists, whether on flash drives, portable hard drives, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs, or other portable storage media, or as part of online accounts, including email accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), file storage sites (e.g., Dropbox, Box, iCloud, etc.), and social media sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Computers and other electronic devices may need to be preserved to the extent they were used to process or store relevant information. If you plan to upgrade or replace your desktop or laptop computers or other devices, you should contact us before doing so – you may need to take steps to preserve the contents of the hard drives (which we can assist with, if necessary). Any old computer hardware or software must also be preserved if it is required to access electronic data.

MEDICAL

The medical portion of your file is very important to your case. We want your treatment with your doctors to run as smoothly as possible.

It is of supreme importance that you follow the advice of your medical providers and attend all your appointments for treatment. If you do not, the insurance company will use that information to significantly undermine your case.

Please never reference your lawyer or this law firm during your medical treatments or in conversations with doctors, nurses, and staff. Likewise, please do not reference your lawsuit or claim to your doctor or in conversations with doctors, nurses, and staff. If you make these types of comments, doctors and their staff are likely to add them to your treatment notes, which will make your case much more difficult to resolve for full value.

If you have health insurance, please have your physician bill your health care provider first. Also, depending on your circumstances and type of accident, you may be covered by a medical payments provisions of relevant auto or homeowners’ policies. All medical payment checks from your auto or homeowners’ carrier need to be channeled through our office so that we may forward payment to the appropriate facility.

Also, please make payment arrangements, including payment plans, with any of your medical providers associated with your case. It is not our responsibility to make payment arrangements with your medical providers for your medical bills.

Our office needs to be kept apprised of all aspects of your medical treatment and any changes that occur. Upon completion of your treatment please contact our office so that we may obtain final reports from your doctors and expedite your matter. In the interim, please provide us with any bills you receive from health care facilities so that we may keep our records up to date. It is imperative that we receive any and all medical bills so that they are included in your settlement. Any medical bills omitted from your final disbursement statement will be your responsibility to pay.

SOCIAL MEDIA

As part of the discovery process, you will have a duty to provide information to other parties in this lawsuit from any sources under your control. Social media has become a significant source of discovery in litigation and imposes new and important legal production obligations on the parties to a lawsuit. Your social media information, as described below, may be requested by other parties to this lawsuit and can significantly affect the outcome of your case. Accordingly, you agree to strictly comply with the following:

  1. DO provide us with ALL your social media accounts, online nicknames, and handles. These include, but are not limited to, blogs; social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+; visual sharing sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube; professional networks such as LinkedIn; and social bookmarking sites such as JD Supra, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and Newsvine. You must provide us with all your online usernames, nicknames, handles, and passphrases.
  2. DO put up a privacy wall. Look at the privacy settings on all your social media. Place all your existing posts behind a privacy wall. Having private posts may protect information that is not relevant to your case from being used against you.
  3. DO NOT deactivate, delete, or remove social media accounts or posts. Deleting information or accounts can significantly hurt your case and can even lead to dismissal of your claim. Disabling or deactivating accounts may lead to permanent deletion, which can also significantly hurt your case. Disabling or suspending accounts may be acceptable, but do not disable any accounts without contacting us in advance to discuss.
  4. DO NOT add new social media accounts, posts, or “friends,” “followers,” or the equivalent. Adding a new social media account, even under a pseudonym (false name or nickname) will not prevent information from being discoverable and potentially used against you. Do not add any new friends or followers unless you are absolutely certain that they are someone you know, and only if absolutely necessary. Do not under any circumstances post any new information on any of your social media accounts as it can be used against you and hurt your case. If you discover other people posting about you on social media, please let us know as soon as possible.
  5. Obey the law. Do not post any information or conduct any online activities that might violate applicable local, state, or federal laws or regulations, or any ethical guidelines for your profession.
CONCLUSION

We will pursue all legal remedies available to bring your case to a fair conclusion. Please be patient during settlement negotiations. Several factors are taken into consideration when settling your case; therefore, it is not always possible to resolve your case quickly. In the event the settlement offer you receive is not desirable or the other side claims they are not the cause of the incident, settlement may take longer than expected and litigation may become necessary,

Rest assured that our attorneys and support staff have a wealth of knowledge and experience; hopefully, you will find them equally pleasant and helpful. We are proud of our legal team. Our priority is to ensure that you are satisfied with the service you receive from our office. If at any time you have questions or concerns, please immediately contact us to discuss. We will make certain that any questions or concerns are resolved promptly and to your satisfaction.

Again, we would like to extend our appreciation for the confidence you have placed in our office. We will always do everything possible to continue to earn your trust and goodwill.

Sincerely,

Gosdis Law