MISTAKE # 6 :
Avoid Timely Medical Treatment and Don’t Follow the Doctor’s Orders or Advice
You have been in an accident. You have a little stiffness in the neck. You might have a few “scratches” from broken glass. Or maybe you’re dizzy or disoriented.
It’s nothing, you think to yourself. You decline medical attention from the emergency responders or fire rescue.
And the hospital? Forget it! No way are you going to the hospital or a doctor.
After all, you’re brave. Hospitals and doctors are for those who really are hurt or in need of care.
Don’t be a hero. Don’t tough it out. If you have any sign of injuries—or even none at all—it’s important to seek medical attention. Studies show that many muscular or joint injuries, like those affecting the neck or back, might not reveal themselves for days or weeks. Only a trained emergency room medical care provider or physician can tell if you have any injuries.
If you experience any obvious injury or any stiffness or soreness, record details of your injuries. Note the characteristics of your injury, including physical pain and mental anguish. Write down the effect any injury is having on your daily life. These “Pain and Suffering” elements are important to ensuring you get the care you need and the settlement you deserve.
Some accident victims—especially those who think it’s best to refuse medical treatment, resort to over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen, to sooth any pain or discomfort. For daily aches and pains, that’s okay. However, if you think you’ve conquered your pain, you might be mistaken. Self-medicating can damage your claim—and worsen your injury. The pain’s gone, you surmise, and by remedying your pain, you feel better. And once you feel better, your medical issues are behind you.
But they’re not behind you.
Regardless of whether you show signs of injuries, it’s important to seek medical attention following your accident. Why? There are several reasons.
First, even if you show no signs of obvious injury, hidden injuries can take days or weeks to show up. A herniated disc in the neck or back may hurt for a few days, only to have the inflammation subside. Yet, this type of orthopedic injury is a long-term situation that at the very least needs a doctor’s attention, and at the very worst, could require surgery. If left undiagnosed or untreated, it can haunt you and cause significant pain and discomfort for the rest of your life.
In legal terms, by ignoring your injury, you might lose the chance to further document your accident and resulting injuries.
Second, the longer you wait or ignore your claim or injuries, the more damage you can do to your accident case or recovery. Insurance adjusters and attorneys “connect the dots.” By tracking the time it takes to move from one event to the next—for example, waiting weeks after an accident to see a medical professional – tells the insurance company your injury was minimal. “This guy waited a while,” their thinking goes. “His injury wasn’t that bad—if he had any injury at all.”
The other insurance company’s lawyers aren’t the only ones who think this. So do juries. If you waited too long to seek medical attention, they might surmise that your injuries were made up, even if you’re truly suffering. They’re just going by the evidence, and injuries can be hard to “see” by the jury’s untrained eye. Opposing counsel knows this, and knows how to play to juries suspicious about late injury claims.
It’s hard to know what injuries you may or may not have suffered after an accident. That is why it is important to avoid giving a statement to the police or anyone else that would imply you were not injured in the accident. Anything you say generally becomes part of the accident record. Even if you simply utter, “No, I feel fine. I don’t need a doctor,” that becomes part of the insurance company’s case file. Rest assured that if you eventually go to court and claim an injury, the insurance company’s attorney will introduce into evidence your denial of injury.
It’s better to say nothing—ever—to an insurance adjuster. That’s why you hire an attorney.
Once you have been treated or given medical advice or a course of treatment, follow it. Too often, a few days after an accident, we feel better. The stiffness subsides. “This must be over,” we say. “It’s time to move on.”
Don’t move on. The doctor may suggest a follow-up visit, or he or she may prescribe a course of physical therapy several times a week or over the next month. Establishing a course of care sets the history of your injury. Following that recommended or prescribed regimen shows you were serious about your injury.
Besides, in most cases, even if you don’t collect on your claim, Personal Injury Protection coverage will pay for the medical expenses. That’s potentially just the beginning of your road to recovery. If you need a car, it could surpass the $10,000 in coverage provided by your PIP policy.
Again, by failing to see a doctor, or by ignoring doctor’s orders or medical advice, you not only can cause further injury to yourself. You can hurt your claim. The insurance company’s attorneys will ask why you didn’t follow the course of treatment, or see a doctor in the first place. You may find yourself on the witness stand, facing a lifetime of medical care, and asking yourself the same question.
THE TAKEAWAY: Don’t ignore your injuries—or the possibility that you’re injured. Seek medical attention immediately following an accident. Get your accident report.