Seek Medical Attention After a Car Accident Immediately

We’ve come up with a great free ebook for you called “The Biggest Mistakes That Will Kill Your Personal Injury Case.” Today, we’ll tackle the first of those mistakes.

Failing to seek medical attention immediately after a car accident is the first mistake that can cost you your entire case.

You are responsible for proving that your injuries occurred in that particular car accident, especially if you have a history of some pre-existing conditions.

If you wait to seek medical care after your accident, no doubt the insurance company will argue that you may have been injured in some other situation, between the time of the accident and when you sought treatment. If the insurance companies agree that the injuries were caused by the accident, they will still argue that your injuries were not serious enough to seek immediate medical attention, and they may offer you a lower settlement amount.

Additionally, if your case goes to trial the jury may not be convinced of the severity ofyour injuries. Juries can be hard on plaintiffs! In a focus group we conducted with a mock jury for a client who is a GM for an NFL team, there was one juror who did not want to award our client one single penny because he waited until the next day to seek medical attention. Our client was involved in an accident, and had an important NFL meeting the following morning, so he did not want to miss it by going to the hospital. On the plane ride to the meeting, he began to experience severe pain and was taken to the emergency room immediately upon landing. Two experts, on both the defense side and the client’s side, determined he needed neck fusion surgery. That particular mock juror did not want to award our client any money for his proven injuries that were directly related to the car accident because he did not take an ambulance or seek medical care the same night as the accident. Thankfully we settled our client’s case for near policy limits, and he was awarded the money he will need to undergo these painful surgeries.

So if you are injured in an auto accident, seek medical attention immediately, don’t wait!