If you have a personal injury case, there’s something you need to know—seeking out medical treatment and following through on professional advice are essential to getting the compensation you deserve. Dealing with insurance companies can cause a lot of headaches, but here’s the key thing to understand: the value of your case is tied to your medical treatment.
That’s not to say that bills are the only thing you can be compensated for. There’s also pain and suffering to consider. But it’s hard to put a number on pain and suffering, especially without having meticulous medical records as a guide.
So how can you protect yourself and stand your ground against insurance companies and their low-ball tactics? Let’s look at three simple steps that all person injury victims should follow:
Step 1: Seek Immediate Medical Attention
First and foremost, if you’ve been in a car crash or suffered an injury, it’s very important to get evaluated by a medical professional as soon as you possibly can. If you wait too long, that gives the insurance company an opportunity to argue that your injury wasn’t that serious to begin with.
The longer you wait to seek treatment, the easier it is for the insurance company to suggest something else that may have been the cause of your pain and discomfort. By promptly seeking medical attention, you establish a clear connection between your injury and the incident that caused it.
Step 2: Consider Using Your Medical Payments Coverage
Here’s a counterintuitive option: If you’re in a car crash, you might want to use your own insurance to cover some of your medical payments. Why should your insurance be paying if you didn’t cause the collision? That’s a fair question.
The answer is, sometimes you have to prioritize. Maybe the other driver’s insurance company isn’t ready to pay up, or maybe there’s a dispute about who was at fault. Whatever the hold-up, your medical payments policy could be the answer that helps you to focus on immediate recovery.
It’s crucial to remember that med pay isn’t free money—it has to be paid back. This is why it’s so important for your injuries and treatment to be documented through medical records.
If you have questions about this step, you should speak to an experienced Indiana injury attorney about the best way to approach a med pay policy. The attorney can help to explain the legalese and guide you through your options toward the best possible solution.
Step 3: Follow Medical Advice Faithfully and Consistently
The third simple step may be the hardest, because it requires commitment over time. If you’re a personal injury victim, it’s very important that you follow the medical advice you’re given. Whether these instructions come from a doctor, a nurse, or a physical therapist, you must take them seriously. If the insurance company lawyers see that you’ve missed appointments or failed to follow through on rehabilitation exercises, they can argue that you’re not dedicated to the recovery process. And—the insurance company lawyers will argue—if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
The way to counter this is to follow medical advice faithfully and consistently. Follow it precisely, and follow it every day. If this means performing certain rehabilitation exercises, do that. If it means avoiding certain activities while you’re recovering, listen to the professionals. This is the best way to safeguard your right to compensation.
Get the Legal Guidance You Need
You’re going to have questions throughout the personal injury process, which is why it’s so important to speak to an Indiana injury lawyer. Give us a call at 317-632-3642, and let the Marc Lopez Law Firm turn your frustration into compensation.
