The number one goal for every personal injury lawyer is to maximize a client’s settlement, but the one thing you should never do is exaggerate injuries or damages. Why? You must accurately portray your damages because other people have taken advantage of the system to recover more money than they are legally entitled. These people commit what's referred to in the legal world as insurance fraud.
It’s Against the Law to Exaggerate Your Injuries
In what’s referred to as the duty to mitigate (or lessen) your damages, the law prohibits you from exaggerating injuries or damages sustained in a car accident. This means that, when making an insurance claim, you are obligated to be as honest as possible when disclosing your injuries or damages and should never exaggerate things. There are many ways that people exaggerate in their personal injury claims, and here are some common examples:- Taking unnecessary time off from work
- Claiming for a pre-existing medical condition that was not aggravated by your accident
- Receiving too much treatment when it is not medically necessary
- Claiming that unrelated business and personal losses were a result of the accident
- Obtaining an unrealistically expensive estimate to fix your car’s property damage.