Should You Get Immediate Medical Treatment After A Personal Injury?

Posted on: 26 July 2021

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Were you involved in an accident that resulted in some sort of injury, and now you are wondering what to do? You may not want to rush to the hospital in case the injury is not as bad as it seems, but not getting treated can have an impact on your personal injury case. Here are some things to know about this unique situation.

Very Minor Injuries May Not Require Immediate Medical Treatment

The answer to if you need medical treatment will always depend on the extent of your injury. If the injury is relatively minor and does not seem as if you are really injured, such as some minor cuts on your body, then you likely don't need to make a visit to the emergency room. You may want to make an appointment with your doctor and have yourself checked out at your earliest convenience, but there is no need to rush to the ER. Your doctor will document that you visited them to treat a potential injury and record anything wrong that they notice. 

Moderate To Major Injuries Should Be Treated Immediately

If you suffered a major injury from an accident, you'll likely not have a choice in the matter. Help will be called and you'll be taken off to the ER in an ambulance. However, this can leave you wondering about how to deal with those moderate injuries, such as things like soreness in your neck or joints. It's very important to have these injuries treated and documented immediately after the accident. 

Insurance Companies Will Try To Diminish Your Injury Claim

The reason for seeking immediate medical treatment is because insurance companies tend to do whatever they can to limit how much they need to pay out in an injury claim. You want to recover as much money as possible, and they want to pay out as little as possible. A delay in your medical treatment can result in the insurance company trying to justify that your injury was not that serious, or else you would have gone to the doctor right away. 

That said, it doesn't matter who you visit. You could go to the ER, an urgent care facility, your primary care physician the next day, or a walk-in clinic during normal office hours. Having the documentation close to the injury date is going to strengthen your case when it comes to judging the severity of your injury. To learn more, contact an injury attorney