Getting What Is Rightfully Yours

Two Important Healthcare Tips To Follow After A Car Accident

14 January 2016 by Penny Fisher

If you've been involved in a car accident and you think that you may have a lawsuit, there are some dos and don'ts that you want to follow in the days and weeks following the accident. Do the right thing, and you can help your case (or at least not hurt it). Don't make some mistakes that can open you to unnecessary scrutiny afterwards. Here are two important guidelines regarding healthcare after an accident.

1.) Don't tell the emergency room doctor that your attorney told you to go there.

Some people call an attorney before they seek medical help. They aren't being greedy or trying to set themselves up for a big payday in court. They usually are in a situation where they didn't seek immediate medical care after the accident because they didn't think they were hurt. Now that the pain settled in a few days later, they're worried that if they go to the ER now, it will look like they are trying to fake an injury.

It won't. There are a lot of well-known medical problems related to car accidents that can take a while to show up. Sometimes the inflammation in your body's tissues just doesn't kick in for a while and sometimes your adrenaline from the shock of the accident will mask symptoms of an injury.

Nobody will think it is unreasonable or a pure setup for a lawsuit if you seek medical care because you develop headaches, back pain, joint pain, numbness or other signs of trouble after a car accident. In addition, your attorney can't diagnose you. He or she also can't really help you receive financial compensation for your injuries until they've been diagnosed and connected to the accident.

Don't try to justify your reason for being in the ER with a statement something like, "My attorney said I need to get checked out." That could end up being an embarrassing and somewhat problematic notation in your medical records that you'll have to explain later. Instead, focus on the pain or problem that you're having as the reason for your ER visit and let the doctor know that you were in an accident. He or she can decide if there might be any connection.

2.) Try to find your own medical care.

If you need ongoing medical care, like physical therapy, you may have trouble finding someone to provide treatment while you've got a lawsuit pending. Your insurance may not be willing to cover all of the treatment, the other driver's insurance may not have agreed to pay your medical bills yet, and you may have insurance issues. Many accident attorneys do know some place that they can refer you for treatment that will work with all of these issues.

However, many of the medical care providers who accept attorney referred patients like this end up providing medical records and even court testimony for a lot of accident victims. As a result, judges and insurance adjusters can get cynical about those particular healthcare providers. The judge and adjuster may start to think that those particular healthcare providers are somehow trying to milk the system, knowing that they'll eventually collect substantial payment once lawsuits are settled. Even if it's unfair, the healthcare provider may have to work harder to defend the diagnosis and treatments given to you as appropriate.

In addition, going to a doctor recommended by an attorney can also put you in a difficult position when you testify. You'll likely be asked how you found the healthcare provider involved in your case if he or she isn't your usual physician. You'd have to admit that your attorney steered you that direction and that could unfairly bias the judge, insurance adjuster, or jury on your case against the healthcare provider's testimony about your injuries.

A doctor or physical therapist that you found on your own is going to seem more credible as a witness, even if he or she makes the same diagnosis and recommends the same treatment as a provider you find through your attorney.

For more information, consider contacting an attorney in your area, like Speers Reuland & Cibulskis, P.C. 

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