In my opinion, this is one question that personal injury attorneys as a whole don’t address enough. Many people (and you may be one of them) feel guilty about their accident. They tell themselves, “Yes, such and such person did such and such wrong, but you know, I am also to blame for what happened.” They go over every detail in their head, again and again, until they finally convince themselves that they were at fault and that they must simply live with the consequences.

Or they might truly believe that they were wronged, but something is holding them back from coming forward and asking for things to be made right. There is a part inside all of us that has a hard time admitting that someone else’s actions (or lack thereof) caused us unnecessary pain, suffering, or loss of money. We are too quick to say, “Oh, it’s OK, don’t worry about it.” Sometimes, it simply is not OK.

Others may be afraid of angering the other party that was involved. Consider this scenario:

You were involved in a car accident one night as you were driving home. Another driver ran a stop sign and crashed into the tail end of your car, sending you spinning off the road. There is serious damage to your car, not to mention all the body pain you are now experiencing, months or maybe even a year later. The driver did stop, however, and you were able to speak with him briefly face to face. He did not seem like a nice guy. In fact, he rather frightened you. You are afraid of filing a lawsuit against him for fear it will put your life in danger.

There may be something else that is holding you back from coming forward with your personal injury claim—something else that I haven’t touched on here. Whatever it is that is keeping you silent, I urge you to treat yourself with as much care as you are treating others and consult a personal injury lawyer about your particular case. He or she will listen to you and help you determine if indeed you deserve compensation and justice for your injuries—and more often than not, you do. You are not a bad person for seeking compensation for your injuries.

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