What To Do If Someone Tries To Intimidate You For Your Personal Injury Suit
When you’ve been injured through the personal negligence of someone else, there’s always a chance that the defendants won’t take a lawsuit very well. In many cases, defendants will try to sit down with you and calmly discuss a settlement. In other cases, defendants may try to do something worse.
Understanding Intimidation From Defendants
Believe it or not, most slip and fall lawyers Miami has in its locality have seen a case where defendants tried to intimidate people who sued them for injuries. People who intimidate plaintiffs in personal injury suits do so in order to make their opponents drop the case.
There are several different types of intimidation that are common to personal injury cases. These include:
- Derision. Poking fun at the lawsuit or “rolling one’s eyes” at it is a common way to make the plaintiff feel powerless. This is a form of intimidation that is more psychological than anything, and should be ignored.
- Social Ostracism. Did your opponent threaten to smear your name to friends or employers? Did they hint that you might suffer a social blowback for your suit? This may be something that you should get in writing.
- Retaliation. Many defendants threaten to countersue you for your personal injury suit, and some even go so far as to threaten to retaliate at your job. This is a major cause for alarm for many clients.
- Physical Retaliation. Though rare, there are cases where defendants in a lawsuit have physically threatened or intimidated others through physical means. If this happens to you, getting a police report and documentation is vital.
How To Handle Being Intimidated By A Defendant
It’s important to realize that certain types of intimidation, such as derision, are just people blowing off steam or mouthing off in hopes of scaring you. However, if they are openly threatening to do something specific to you, that’s when you should start reacting.
The good news is that reacting to intimidation and threats is fairly easy. If you are getting threats of physical retaliation, the first thing you should do is get documentation of the threat and call the police.
Any other threats that are issued involving them personally harming you in one way or another should be something you tell your attorney. Depending on what they said to you, you may have additional facts to present as part of your case.
Having the right lawyer for your case is what makes or breaks your ability to get the results you need. At our office, we make it possible for you to get the guidance you need to navigate slip and falls in Miami.
