Go See a Doctor or Risk Hurting Your Personal Injury Case

That was close, you think. Your heart is pounding because you were driving along when suddenly you were hit by another vehicle. Your car seems pretty beat up, but luckily, you feel fine. Maybe a scrape or a bruise here or there, but otherwise nothing that seems like it warrants a trip to the hospital or a doctor.

But if you don’t seek medical attention as soon as possible after a Georgia car accident, truck accident, or motorcycle accident – even if you feel okay – you may be making a big mistake; one that could seriously damage your health and hurt your ability to recover compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.

Maybe Not Today. Maybe Not Tomorrow, But Soon…

It’s not unusual for people who feel okay after an accident to discover days, weeks, or months later that they have in fact sustained an injury. The adrenaline rush you feel after an accident, along with your focus on the immediate, practical matters you have to address, may push any pain to the back of your mind, at least temporarily.

You may feel fine after a jarring car collision, but a few weeks later, you start experiencing headaches, dizziness, or confusion that may be symptoms of a concussion or more serious brain injury. If you had gone to a doctor right after the accident, he or she may have been able to detect the injury and provide you with the treatment you need to keep the injury from getting worse and help you get better.

Two Ways Lack of Medical Attention Can Keep You From Getting Compensation

If it turns out you did in fact sustain an injury in a car accident, and you want to seek compensation for your injuries from the person responsible and their insurance company, failing to see a doctor can have a negative impact on your ability to recover appropriate damages in two significant ways:

• Premature settlement. After an accident, insurance companies will likely try to get you settle as soon as possible, for as little as possible. Because insurance companies are focused on their bottom line and not your well-being, you should never negotiate or settle with an insurance company without consulting with an attorney first. But if you feel fine, the amount the insurer offers may seem fine as well. When, down the road, you realize that you sustained serious injuries that require costly medical care and rehabilitation and lost time at work, you will have already signed away your rights to pursue the compensation that you deserved.
• Lack of Medical Evidence. In order to recover damages in a personal injury case, you have to prove not only that the other person caused your injuries, you also have to demonstrate the extent of your injuries. Getting treatment right after an accident will ensure that you have complete medical records that will serve to document the extent of your injuries, and being close in time to the accident, those records and your doctor’s testimony can also be crucial to proving causation.

If you’ve been in an accident and have questions about what to do next, please reach out to us at (770) 727-5550 or chat live online with a member of our staff now. We are committed to helping Georgia injury victims get the compensation and resources they need to recover and move forward with their lives.