After a car accident, you’re likely to experience a whirlwind of emotions from distress to fear to frustration. Amidst these feelings, it’s important to prioritize seeking medical evaluation from a doctor who specializes in auto accident injuries. Failure to do so immediately could result in difficulty receiving compensation for potential medical issues, not to mention your well-being could suffer serious consequences. Let’s dive into a few reasons why you should see a doctor after a car accident even if you’re feeling okay.
- Cause of pain won’t be questioned
Let’s say you get in a wreck and feel too overwhelmed or tired to find a ride to a physician’s office to get checked out. After all, the incident was relatively minor and you’re feeling all right aside from some slight soreness in your neck.
Well, a few days later the soreness turns into relentless pain, which is debilitating. It hurts to turn your head and you can’t lift anything without feeling stiff. So you finally see a doctor to receive treatment and grounds for filing a claim; however, because you waited too long, there are some complications.
Firstly, the defendant can claim you’re making up the pain. They’ll say if the pain was really so severe you would have visited earlier. It’s true that pain worsens over time, but typically after 24 hours you’ll be able to notice if something doesn’t feel right, so be sure to seek medical advice during that window to avoid any speculation.
Additionally, if you wait too long, your insurance company may believe the pain was caused by something else between the accident and the medical visit. Had you been checked out immediately following the accident, there would be no doubt surrounding the cause of the pain, meaning you are more likely to receive compensation.
Avoiding these two scenarios is important because the last thing you want after the inconvenience of a car accident is to be suspected of insurance fraud.
- You Could Have an Undetected Injury
Even after a minor wreck, it’s common for your body to go into fight-or-flight mode, producing a rush of adrenaline and endorphins. This phenomenon is good and bad for us. The good news is this system protects us from pain and keeps our body alert in dangerous situations. The bad news is we can have complex injuries we’re unable to feel until the rush wears off, which can take hours.
Untreated injuries can take a serious toll on our bodies and significantly slow the healing process. Therefore, having an X-ray and an appropriate evaluation not only facilitates the claim process, but ensures you get the treatment you need to heal and get your life back on track.
- Filing a Claim Will be One Million Times Easier
Filing an insurance claim requires a comprehensive paper trail to prove necessary steps were taken after the incident. Seeing a doctor (specifically one who specializes in these cases) proves you did what you could to diagnose injury and get the treatment you need.
Once you have these records, your doctor can present them to the insurance company to get your claim on track. Even if you choose to wait a few weeks to file a claim due to variances in injury progression, having these records on hand will make things significantly easier.
However, do make sure you review the reports to ensure all information is correct and make your doctor aware of any previous medical issues and treatments such as past surgeries, chiropractor visits, etc. Doing so allows you to get a more accurate form of treatment and quicker compensation from your insurance provider.
Time is of the Essence
Regardless of the severity, it is almost always beneficial for you to see a doctor immediately after an accident. For the best results, visit a doctor who specializes in auto accident injuries — they possess the knowledge and experience needed to quickly identify a treatment plan and acquire the appropriate documents to send over to your insurance company.
If you’ve suffered an auto related injury, call us at Morris Law. We’ll put you in the care of our trusted team of attorneys to make sure your no-fault claim is on track so you won’t have to pay a penny out of pocket.