You Asked AI About Your Injury. How Much Can You Trust the Answer?

Have you asked ChatGPT whether you have a personal injury claim? Maybe you searched for lawsuits involving a medication you take, asked whether a medical device has caused injuries like yours, or wanted to know how much time you have to file a lawsuit.

You’re part of a growing group of people turning to AI for legal information. The American Bar Association reports that 13% of surveyed legal consumers have used AI tools to research legal issues.

ChatGPT can help you learn more about a potential claim and give you a better idea of what to ask a lawyer. It can also give you incorrect information or an answer that sounds far more definitive than the facts support.

At Freese & Goss, we represent people across the country in serious personal injury, dangerous drug, defective medical device, and mass tort cases. If your AI research has you wondering whether you have a case, call 800-558-5842 for a free case review.

Can ChatGPT Tell You Whether You Have a Personal Injury Case?

You can give ChatGPT a detailed account of what happened to you and ask whether you have a case. The answer may sound remarkably specific. That does not mean the conclusion is right.

An attorney will want to know more than the basic facts you typed into a prompt. Depending on the claim, that could include:

• How the injury happened and who may be responsible;
• Your medical records before and after the injury;
• Photos, reports, or witness accounts that help establish what occurred;
• The drug, device, or product involved in your injury; and
• Where and when the injury occurred, which can affect the law and filing deadline.

The questions become even more involved in the mass tort cases Freese & Goss handles nationwide. If you were diagnosed with a serious condition after taking a prescription medication, ChatGPT may tell you the drug has been associated with that condition and describe lawsuits filed against its manufacturer. An attorney still needs to determine whether the facts and medical evidence support a claim in your situation.

There is also the possibility that the AI answer itself is wrong. Stanford researchers tested AI-powered legal research products from major legal information companies and found that even these specialized systems hallucinated more than 17% of the time. A chatbot can give you an incorrect legal rule, misstate a source, or provide information based on law that does not apply where you live.

What If AI Found Other People With the Same Injury?

This is one area where an AI search can be useful. You type the name of your medication and diagnosis into ChatGPT and learn that other patients have reported the same condition. Or you search for complications from a medical device and discover lawsuits involving the same product.

Freese & Goss has represented thousands of people harmed by dangerous drugs, medical devices, and consumer products. The firm’s attorneys have worked on major pharmaceutical and device litigation involving products such as Fen-Phen, Topamax, Avandia, transvaginal mesh, hernia mesh, and IVC filters.

Finding people with similar injuries does not establish that a particular product caused yours or that you qualify for an existing claim. Depending on the case, an attorney may need to determine:

• Which drug or device you used and who manufactured it;
• When and how long you used it;
• When your symptoms began and when you were diagnosed;
• What your medical records show; and
• Whether your circumstances fit the claims currently being pursued.

That last piece can be especially important in defective medical device cases. Freese & Goss has handled litigation involving pelvic mesh and IVC filters and obtained a $73.465 million verdict involving a transvaginal mesh implant and a $33.684 million verdict involving an IVC filter.

AI can help you discover that other people are asking questions about the same product. Determining what happened in your case can require medical records, product identification, expert analysis, and evidence involving the manufacturer.

Can You Trust the Laws, Studies, and Lawsuits ChatGPT Finds?

Pay attention to the sources behind an AI answer. The type of information ChatGPT finds can tell you very different things:

• A medical study may report an association between a drug and a health condition without establishing that the drug caused your injury.
• A lawsuit tells you allegations have been made against a company. It does not mean those allegations have been proven.
• A verdict or settlement shows what happened in another person’s case, not what your case will be worth.
• A statute or court decision may be outdated or come from a state whose law does not apply to you.

Filing deadlines are a good example. Ask ChatGPT, “How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit?” and you may receive a specific number of years. Your actual deadline can depend on where the injury occurred, the type of claim, when you learned about the injury, and other circumstances.

Freese & Goss represents injured people across the country and handles claims governed by different state laws. A deadline is one piece of legal information you should verify with an attorney rather than relying solely on an AI response.

If ChatGPT helped you find information about an injury, drug, medical device, or lawsuit, bring your questions to Freese & Goss. Our attorneys can review your circumstances and determine what applies to your potential claim. Call 800-558-5842 for a free case review.

Can AI Tell You What Your Personal Injury Case Is Worth?

Ask ChatGPT what an injury like yours is “worth” and you may get a settlement range in seconds. The number can look precise even though AI does not know the full extent of your losses.

Depending on the case, compensation may involve:

• Medical expenses, including anticipated treatment;
• Income you have already lost because of the injury;
• Reduced ability to work or earn income in the future;
• Physical impairment or disfigurement; and
• Pain and other ways the injury has affected your life.

Liability and available sources of compensation can affect the outcome as well. Two people with similar injuries can have very different cases. One person may recover after treatment and return to work. Another may need additional surgery, lose months of income, or live with permanent limitations.

Freese & Goss has obtained substantial verdicts and settlements for injured clients, including major results in dangerous drug and defective medical device litigation. Those results came from the evidence and losses involved in those individual cases and do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What Should You Do With the Information AI Gave You?

Start with what led you to search. Maybe you wanted to know whether your diagnosis has been linked to a drug, whether other patients have experienced problems with your medical device, or whether an injury could give you grounds for a claim.

When you talk with an attorney, you can share:

• What you asked AI and which part of the answer caught your attention;
• The name of the drug, device, or product involved;
• Important treatment, surgery, or diagnosis dates;
• Medical records or reports you already have; and
• Insurance correspondence or other documents related to the injury.

There is no need to track down every record before calling. The attorney can determine what additional information is needed after learning more about your situation.

Asked AI About an Injury? Bring Your Questions to Freese & Goss

AI is becoming part of how people research legal problems. It can help you find information, learn terminology, and identify questions you want answered. What it tells you about a potential lawsuit still needs to be checked against your medical history, injuries, applicable law, and available evidence.

Founding partners Richard Freese and Tim Goss lead a team handling personal injury and mass tort cases across the country. Together, the founding partners have more than 77 years of combined experience, and Freese & Goss has successfully resolved more than $1 billion in cases for injured people.

If your AI research left you wondering whether you have a claim involving an injury, medication, medical device, or other product, call 800-558-5842 or contact Freese & Goss for a free case review.