How Medical Care Impacts Your Car Accident Claim

If you have been injured in a car accident, it is important to not only seek medical care but to continue following medical advice.

More than 4.6 million people sought medical care after a car accident resulting in $433-billion dollars in insurance claims in 2017. Most people believe that medical care after a car accident is immediate and ends when they leave the hospital or doctor’s office. However, when you are pursuing a car accident claim, ongoing medical care is crucial to your accident claim. As St. Louis car accident attorneys we help people every day understand the role of medical care in their accident claims so they don’t make a mistake and damage their case.

In this article, we are going to talk about how medical care impacts your overall car accident claim and the dangers of not following medical advice.

Don’t Ignore Symptoms

More times than not, at the scene of an accident, victims don’t appear to have injuries. It’s not until hours or days later, when stress hormones and endorphins subside that injuries start appearing. Don’t ignore these symptoms merely because they didn’t happen right away. Make an appointment to get evaluated by a physician. Then, if you haven’t already spoken with an experienced attorney, do so immediately and get advice on how to handle your car accident claim. Don’t dismiss symptoms like dizziness, numbness, or just not feeling normal.

Don’t Stop Treatment On Your Own

It’s natural when we start feeling better to stop treating our ailments. Do not do this. The only time you should ever stop treatment is if it’s been directed by your physician. This goes for medications, physical therapy, follow-through with surgeries, etc.

First, tending to your health is of the utmost importance to ensure you do not relapse or have issues in the weeks, months, or years ahead. Second, your attendance and commitment to your appointments show the insurance company (and later maybe a judge or jury) that you were injured and sought medical care to get better. These appointments are a record of how injured you actually are rather than a claim of what you simply say. Third, these appointments also help your attorney seek the proper amount of compensation for your case.

The Importance of Medical Records

Medical Records are essential to your accident claim because they reveal exactly what is wrong and how it was handled. Without these records, it’s just a game of he said, she said. You also want to be sure these records are accurate. By not reviewing your medical documents and just handing them over to the insurance company, there may be inaccuracies that can hurt your car accident claim. For example, if you have a shoulder injury from the accident and you mention to the physician that it’s the same shoulder you injured in a football game your sophomore year in college, the doctor might put that in the category of a pre-existing injury. This can devastate your case. Check to ensure the records are accurate and have them corrected if not.