Yes, if you are having symptoms related to the accident/incident, please make sure that you are going to see a medical professional. Your injuries must be well documented for us to present to the insurance company and to the jury. While there is a tendency for some people to not like going to the doctor, please remember that the insurance companies and defense lawyers view a lack of treatment as a sign that you are not injured or hurting.
Tips: It is important that you make all of your doctor’s appointments. Do NOT miss any of your appointments even if it is just for physical therapy or a routine check-up following the accident. If you cannot make it in for a legitimate reason, please call ahead and notify the doctor’s office.
It is important that you follow the doctor’s orders. The law provides that if you fail to follow the doctor’s orders for care and treatment, you may not be able to recover certain damages.
Please make sure that you notify us of each and every medical professional you see related to the accident.
If you have your medical records from treatment related to the accident, please provide them to us. Generally, it is easiest for you to get your medical records if there is no charge from your doctor or health care provider. If you will get charged, we can order the medical records (and we will be charged as a cost to your case), or we can provide a patient’s waiver to the insurance company and/or defense lawyer (who will generally provide a copy at no or a minimal charge).
Remember: If you treat with a doctor for an unrelated medical condition (such as a cold, flu, routine exam), it is important that you tell the doctor about your problems and symptoms related to the accident as well. This is important even if that doctor is not going to provide you with treatment. Based on my experience, if you fail to tell the doctor about your problems, they will note in the records that “Patient is here for a cold. No other problems to report. Otherwise, they are fine.” The insurance companies and defense lawyers will use this type of report against you.
We encourage you to keep a journal noting each time you visit the doctor. At some point in the claim, we will likely ask you to verify our summary of all medical charges related to the accident. If you have a journal noting each time you visited a doctor, you should be able to verify fairly easily that we have all of the bills related to the accident.