After a car accident, things can be chaotic and confusing. You’re dealing with a stranger who may or may not be very friendly, looking for witnesses, talking to police and insurance representatives and considering whether to hire a lawyer. Medical attention may not be the first thing on your mind if you have no immediate and/or visible signs of injury. However, it should be at the top of your mind, and it should be something you do as soon as possible after the accident.
Why? There are several reasons.
The longer you wait, the harder it is to prove the connection
Immediately after the accident, any visible signs of injury are easy to prove: cuts, bruises, broken bones or other things along those lines. A few pictures snapped at the scene can back up the proof of those injuries. But what about the injuries that aren’t visible? Concussions, whiplash, broken ribs, punctured lungs, and other injuries of that nature can’t be seen without a doctor’s exam.
Proof that those injuries exist will still be there days or weeks after the accident, but the longer you wait, the easier it becomes for the other party and their insurance to deny that there’s any connection to the accident. It also becomes harder for you to prove that you sustained the injuries in the accident as time passes.
By seeking medical attention as immediately as possible after the car accident occurs, the same injuries are noted, but they are done in a timely enough fashion that the connection to the accident is much clearer.
Your health and well-being are at risk
Ignoring the impact a lack of medical attention can have on your case from a financial and legal standpoint, you put your health and well-being at serious risk by not seeking immediate medical attention. There are a number of injuries you can sustain in a car accident that aren’t visible to the naked, untrained eye. It’s also possible to sustain injuries that may not have any immediate, noticeable symptoms, yet they can cause severe damage or even prove fatal if ignored.
Seeking out immediate medical attention ensures that you treat any injuries you may have before they become a major issue. It minimizes your pain, recovery time, and time lost from work – which means it also minimizes your financial loss.
There’s an expectation that you’ll mitigate your damages
If a lawsuit results from the car accident, you’ll be suing for your damages. Damages include things like vehicle repairs, medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
A judge will expect you to mitigate your damages to the degree that you can. An example of this would be: you sustain a back injury in the accident. Immediate medical treatment would have resulted in some chiropractic adjustments, pain medication, and a few weeks off work. Delayed medical treatment resulted in the injury worsening to the point that you need surgery to repair the damage. In this situation, it’s possible a judge may not award the entire amount you have to pay for your surgery if you didn’t seek immediate medical attention because you didn’t attempt to mitigate your damages.
Seeking out the advice and assistance of a lawyer to ensure that you’ve covered all the bases with medical care is a very good idea. They can also go over your records and determine what you might be able to ask for in a lawsuit. They can also advise you in discussing your medical care and injuries with the other party’s insurance company, to ensure that you don’t say something that could jeopardize your case.
Call our law offices today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
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