SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL TREATMENT

The first thing to do if you are hurt in a car accident is to get the medical treatment that you need.  If the injury from the car accident was a serious one, you likely went to the emergency room of the closest hospital.  It is important that you get the appropriate medical care as soon as possible.  Not only will you have received important medical treatment, but you will have created the paper trail necessary for proving your injury case. Insurance companies, when evaluating accident claims, will often deny an injury occurred if treatment is not immediate and properly documented by a medical provider.

If you did not go to the emergency room, then make sure that you get into a doctor’s office within 72 hours if you are feeling any pain or symptoms from the car accident.  It does not matter if you go to your family doctor, a chiropractor, an urgent care facility, or an orthopedic specialist.  What matters is that you get treated for your injuries.  If you do not know who to go see, you can get a recommendation from a friend, or family member who has been in an accident or treated by a good doctor.  If these sources are not available, then look on the internet or in the phone book.

If you do not get the treatment you need, the insurance company will argue that you must not really have been hurt.  The insurer will claim that any gaps in treatment show that you were not really trying to get better, (if you were even hurt in the first place).  No amount of explaining the break in treatment by your attorney will work.  It is not very effective to say, “I do not like to got to doctors,” “I just toughed it out,” or “I did not know where to go.”  Get the necessary medical care immediately!