Should You See A Doctor After A Car Accident?

If you are wondering whether you should see a doctor after a car accident, the answer is a resounding YES. Without a shred of doubt, seeing a doctor after a car accident is the most important step you can take to protect your legal rights.

The expenses due to car accidents and injuries can be astronomical. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the costs of medical care and productivity losses due to car accidents for the year 2017 alone amounted to more than $75 billion. Seeing a doctor after a car accident can protect your health as well as your right to legal recourse against a negligent driver. Contact Tyroler Leonard Injury Law today and get a free case evaluation from an experienced car accident trial attorney to determine whether you have a case: (651) 259-1113.

The Potential Consequences of Not Seeing a Doctor

The most detrimental consequences of not seeing a doctor after a car accident could be on your health and well-being, as well as potentially on your wallet. During an accident, our bodies produce adrenaline which can help to suppress pain. This means that you may not even know that you suffered a potentially serious injury until it is too late to obtain proper medical intervention. Some common car accident injuries may also have a delayed onset of symptoms, including:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms from a TBI, such as cognitive problems, seizures, and headaches, could potentially take weeks to develop. A TBI can be serious and debilitating. Delaying medical assistance could be detrimental to a car accident victim’s health.

Whiplash

Similarly to a TBI, a whiplash injury may not show any symptoms for weeks. While mild whiplash may not be a cause for concern, severe whiplash could require urgent treatment.

Other Potential Delayed Onset Injuries

You may not notice any immediate symptoms with a range of other injuries, including soft tissue injuries such as dislocations and sprains. Significant back injuries, such as herniated discs and spine injuries, can also remain undetected and cause significant problems for accident victims later on in their lives.

Not Seeing A Doctor Can Cost You Financially

In the worst-case scenario, not seeking medical advice after a car accident could cost you a settlement and the compensation you deserve. If you did not seek medical advice and do not have a medical report from immediately after an accident, you will not have immediate documentation that your injuries are directly related to your car accident. Weeks later, symptoms of an injury begin to show up and you are diagnosed with a TBI that prevents you from going to work for weeks. You now have medical bills and wage losses and are hoping to recover damages from the at-fault driver.

Unfortunately, if your medical report dates from weeks or months after your car accident, the other side could (and most likely will) argue that your TBI is not related to the accident at all. While a car accident attorney could talk to your medical provider and try to prove the link between the accident and injury, you could be facing an uphill battle for recovering the compensation you have a legal right to receive under the law. If you suffered any kind of injury as a result of a car accident, contact your doctor and an experienced personal injury attorney at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law now to ensure your legal rights remain protected.

Other Important Steps to Take in the Days After a Car Accident

Seeing a doctor after a car accident, while arguably your most important step, can be just one of a number of important actions you should take to protect your legal rights. Others can include, depending on your specific accident:

Collecting Relevant Evidence

Collecting evidence at the scene of an accident can be an excellent idea, provided you do so safely. Taking photographs of the accident scene, making sure that your version of events is recorded in the police officer’s accident report, and collecting the contact information of witnesses can all be extremely helpful for your case.

In the days following a car accident, make sure you keep any evidence such as photographs, contact details, and insurance information, safe and at hand. Be sure to keep any repair bills and receipts relating to your vehicle damage or replacement costs for your vehicle. If you suffered injuries, collect all relevant medical bills and statements, including receipts for out-of-pocket expenses such as medications and costs of any medical devices. If you were unable to attend work due to your accident injuries, collect relevant pay stubs and bank statements as proof for any loss of wages.

Collecting all the evidence for a potential lawsuit can feel overwhelming. However, a personal injury lawyer can help with gathering evidence proving your claim and your damages, which can include:

  • Police reports
  • Traffic camera footage
  • Witness statements
  • Accident reconstruction expert testimony

Keeping A Journal

Keeping a journal in the days after an accident can be an excellent and often overlooked way to keep track of your medical treatments, physical pain, and emotional distress you experienced. This can later constitute helpful evidence for any non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

Keeping a journal can also be an important tool to jog your memory. We tend to forget details fairly quickly, so writing down exactly how you experienced the accident can be very helpful if you need to recollect your experience at a trial. You may also wish to note down the weather conditions or any road faults you observed on the day of the accident. All this can later help with piecing together how and why the accident happened, and who is at fault.

Keeping comprehensive notes regarding the accident and your injuries can help you, especially if you have to take legal action for pursuing compensation.

Contacting a Personal Injury Lawyer

Perhaps the next most important step after seeing to your health can be to consider contacting a dedicated and experienced personal injury lawyer for help and advice. Even if you only have minor injuries, scheduling a free consultation can help to inform you of your legal rights. However, if you suffered significant and life-changing injuries and steep losses such as medical bills and loss of income, having a lawyer by your side can help you recover the compensation you have a legal right to receive for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Call Tyroler Leonard Injury Law Now for Help

If you or a loved one experienced a serious accident and suffered injuries, our experienced car accident attorneys could help you get what you deserve. Tyroler Leonard Injury Law can offer you a free initial consultation where we can take all the time you need to address your concerns and answer any questions you may have. Time can be of the essence when it comes to personal injury lawsuits. Do not wait and schedule a free consultation with us today at (651) 259-1113.

Attorney Isaac Tyroler

Attorney Isaac Tyroler has been a strong advocate for injured people his entire legal career. He has a passion for righting wrongs, and he deeply cares about representing injured clients who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about how to navigate the legal system. He is compassionate toward clients and aggressive with insurance companies and defendants. He is on the elected Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MAJ), the top personal injury lawyers’ group in Minnesota. And is currently the chair of MAJ’s legislative committee. [ Attorney Bio ]