#2 MISTAKE: Delaying seeing a medical provider immediately following a car accident

QUESTION: What should I do if I’ve been injured in a car accident?

ANSWER: After a car accident, promptly seek medical care to ensure a speedy, and full recovery, and to protect your personal injury claim. Delaying being examined and receiving treatment can compromise your health and give the insurance company grounds to question the severity of your injuries. Seeing a medical provider right after your accident is critical for documenting your injuries’ connection to your car accident. This will also support both your recovery and claim.

The second biggest mistake you can make following a car accident is delaying seeing a medical provider immediately following the accident.

There are a couple of important reasons why you don’t want to wait to get the medical care you need.  First, we all know how important our health is. If we’re not healthy, how can we take care of ourselves, and our families, and continue doing our work? When we’ve been injured in a car accident, our ability to care for what’s important is compromised.

It’s not unusual for people who have been injured in a car accident to underestimate the importance of getting immediate medical treatment. However, it’s what will help you recover more quickly, and ensure that you have a full recovery without any permanent problems.

It’s not unusual for us to hear from our clients “Well, it was about six weeks before I finally saw a doctor, I thought everything was going to be fine, but then things didn’t get better, and so I called my healthcare provider.”

It makes so much sense why you may be waiting to see a doctor. The problem is it can impact your making a full recovery, and your recovery timeframe, and it can also harm your personal injury claim.

If you wait too long before you see a medical provider, the insurance company is going to say, “Well you must’ve not really been hurt or you would’ve seen a provider a lot sooner.” While that’s not true, it’s what the insurance adjuster is going to say. Your PIP coverage may even be cut off, impacting your medical treatment being covered before you’ve fully recovered from your accident.

When it comes time to settle your case, the defendant’s insurance company is going to say, “Well, maybe something else happened between when the accident happened and when you finally saw a medical provider and that’s the real reason why you finally sought medical treatment.”

To protect yourself and your claim, don’t delay getting the medical treatment you need. Call your medical provider and see them within the first week after your auto accident.

Whether you’re our client or not, we want to be a bridge of support for you.

We’ve developed a robust library of articles and videos organized into four topics which include our responses to the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often.

• Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
• What You Need to Know About Your Claim
• How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
• How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam

The articles provide advice and guidelines to help you navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent you or not, we are passionate about helping you protect your rights, you receiving the medical care you need to recover from your injuries, and having the information you need to avoid mistakes that can harm your personal injury claim.