2 Vital Tips to Follow After Being Injured in an Accident in Wichita Falls
After a car accident, or any other type of accident in Wichita Falls, in which you experienced an injury, there are a couple very important steps that you need to take to protect not just your health, but also your legal rights.
These two steps are (1) seeking prompt medical treatment for your injuries and (2) following the doctor’s orders and strictly following your treatment plan. While these steps may seem obvious, but unfortunately, they are often neglected. We see all the time in our Wichita Falls personal injury law firm how neglecting these two steps can be detrimental to your Wichita Falls personal injury claim.
1. Getting Prompt Medical Treatment
If you become seriously injured in a car accident, or any other type of accident in Wichita Falls, you will most likely be taken to the emergency room by ambulance. However, this is not always the case. After some accidents, victims do not believe their injuries are as bad as they truly are due to the adrenaline, they are experiencing from being in the accident. Many victims wrongly choose to take some pain medication and wait it out only to find their pain is getting worse and worse.
Please avoid doing this. It is better to be safe than sorry. By
putting off getting medical treatment, you are taking a big risk with both your health and your personal injury case. Some injuries do not begin to show until later and they can be very serious such as internal bleeding. When you delay treatment, it can lead to serious complications and can sometimes even be deadly.
The pain in your neck and back may not feel too bad at the scene of the accident, but later on it increases and you may find out you have a herniated disc weeks or even months later. This injury could have been caught and treated right away instead of getting worse and worse.
The whole point of this step is that just because an injury isn’t apparent right away after your accident doesn’t mean it is not there and certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. Please seek prompt medical attention so a professional can properly evaluate, diagnose, and treat you for your injuries. This can save you a lot of pain and can even save your life.
In regards to your personal injury case, the longer you wait to seek treatment, the more difficult it is to prove to the insurance companies and juries that your injuries were caused by that accident. This can negatively impact your personal injury case and your right to recover damages for your injuries.
2. Follow the Doctor’s Orders and Stick to Your Treatment Plan
Another way you will hurt your personal injury claim in Wichita Falls is if your doctor prescribes a specific treatment plan that you fail to follow. For example, if your doctor tells you to go to physical therapy 4 days a week and you only go twice. The insurance adjusters and the companies they work for will take your lack of following the treatment plan as you not really being injured as bad as you say you are because if you were, you would do everything the doctor recommends to get better. They will use this against you to reduce your personal injury claim.
Additionally, if you do not see your doctor on a regular basis, the insurance company will take the position that you have fully recovered from your injuries. Anytime you are still having problems from your injuries, however minor they may seem, you need to go see your doctor and tell them about it. If your doctor’s orders are to follow up as needed, then you should go back in a few weeks or at least once a month if you are still having any pain or any other types of issues. If you fail to follow up, the doctor and the insurance company, and the jury if it goes that far, will make the assumption that you have made a fully recovery further damaging your personal injury claim.
Our Wichita Falls Personal Injury Lawyer Is Ready to Help You
These are just two very simple things you must be sure to do in order to protect your rights after an accident has left you or a loved one injury in Wichita Falls. Of course, there are a number of other steps you can take to give yourself the best chance at pursuing your personal injury claim and obtaining the best settlement possible. Try checking out our article on the top 10 ways to maximize your personal injury claim in Wichita Falls. And to learn more about personal injury in general, download a free copy of our book, The Traveler’s Guide to the Universe of Personal Injury.
You can also contact our Wichita Falls personal injury lawyer by calling us at 940-569-4000 or filling out our contact form to set up a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation. We would be happy to listen to you and hear your concerns. We’ll give you a free evaluation of your case and offer you some guidance to move forward even if you choose not to hire us.