Posted on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021 at 3:46 pm
After being involved in a car accident, you may need medical attention and treatment for your injuries. In order to preserve your future accident claim, there are a few things you should remember during your conversations with medical professionals while receiving treatment for your injuries.
What Kind of Doctor Do I Need to See?
After being injured in a car accident, your first point of contact with a medical professional may be with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on the scene, depending on the severity of your injury and the urgency for treatment of your injuries. You may also be taken to the Emergency Room by EMS or you may transport yourself for immediate medical treatment for moderate to severe injuries.
After receiving emergency medical treatment, or if your injuries didn’t require emergency medical attention, you may follow up with or be seen by your primary care doctor. Your primary care doctor may be able to diagnose any injuries you may have and treat them. If you’re following up on the emergency room care you received, your primary care doctor may be able to provide you with continuing care for your injuries to help ensure you’re on the right path to recovery.
It should be noted, however, that some primary care doctors are apprehensive about treating car accident injuries and some outright refuse to treat car accident-related injuries. This is because they understand that these types of injuries can often result in you becoming involved in litigation or personal injury claims. When this happens, the doctors, themselves, may have to be involved in the litigation, and most doctors don’t want to be tangled up in legal proceedings. So, be sure that you choose a primary care doctor that is willing to treat your accident-related injuries.
Additionally, following any emergency medical treatment or primary physician’s care you receive, you may be referred to one or more medical specialists. Depending on your injuries, a physician who specializes in treating that type of injury would be best to provide you with the care and continuing treatment that you may need.
Things to Talk to Your Doctor About
Whether you’re being treated in the emergency room, or by a primary care doctor or medical specialist, there are several things you should be sure to consult your doctor about. Ultimately, your goal is to receive proper treatment so that you can heal from your injuries.
Beyond that, you also want to be diligent about what you discuss with your doctor so that you can preserve your right to seek compensation for your injuries by filing a personal injury claim or through litigation, if necessary. Keep in mind that whatever you discuss with the medical professionals that care for and treat your accident-related injuries will be a part of your medical record. Your medical record, particularly the record of your car accident injuries, will be evidence in your personal injury claim and/or any potential litigation that may arise.
One of the first pieces of information that you’ll want to provide to your doctor and that your doctor will want to know is how you’re feeling. If you’re in an emergency room, the attending physician will likely not know much about your medical history or medical status other than the symptoms that you’re showing and complaining about at the time. They will likely run tests in order to make proper diagnoses of your injuries.
It’s very important that you are honest about the amount of pain that you’re in and where you’re feeling pain. The locations at which you’re feeling pain may not be related to one another but may all be related to the car accident, and you want those injuries treated and documented. You need to receive adequate treatment for your injuries, and the documentation of your injuries will support your future personal injury claim.
You should also be completely honest about your medical history. It may be important to how your injuries can be treated today. Advise your caregiver about any past surgical procedures you’ve had or prescription drugs you may be allergic to. Any lack of candor about your medical history can also arise later when you file your personal injury claim and insurance companies review your medical record.
If it’s determined that you weren’t honest about your medical history when you received treatment for your accident-related injuries, insurance companies may argue that you were concealing information and that this speaks to your credibility. They may also try to claim that one or more of your injuries actually existed before the accident. These are claims that insurance companies may make to deny your claim or reduce the compensation you’re eligible for.
We Can Help
If you or someone you know has been severely injured in a car accident due to no fault of your own, you need an experienced attorney to help you get the compensation you may be entitled to. The car accident attorneys of Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C. are skilled in personal injury law and have helped clients get maximum compensation for their car accident-related injuries. Call us today at (770) 205-8827 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.