If you have suffered injury as a result of someone else’s negligence then you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury claim. This article will discuss how gaps in your medical treatment can affect the value of your claim.
After an individual is injured in an accident then they are likely to make some visits to the doctor. It may be that such visits are carried out often in the first few months and then decrease as time goes by. Such doctor visits may include tests and follow-up visits, all these are designed to track your injuries and determine your healing progresses. It must be noted that keeping up with your appointments is of the utmost importance as this greatly benefits you and has a strong deciding factor in a personal injury claim that you may file. Any gaps in your treatment are likely to devalue [Devalue Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com] your claim and compensation amount. Speak to car accident lawyers in Bakersfield for more information on getting compensation in your personal injury claim
There are two noted gaps in personal injury claims: (1) between the occurrence of the accident and when you start getting treated for the injuries sustained from the accident, and (2) when you see a doctor for injuries and then allow a few months to go by before seeing the doctor again. It is important to note that the insurance adjuster dealing with your case is looking for any way to devalue your claim. As a result, if the insurance adjuster sees any gap in your medical treatment it will be used as evidence that your injuries are not as bad as you say they are. For example, if there is a six-month gap between the time you had a car accident and then sought medical treatment it likely will be used as evidence that your injuries were not severe at all. Hence the need and importance to visit your doctor after the accident. In addition, work at keeping a journal documenting your doctor visits, symptoms and pain.
It must be noted that there are times where there is a good reason for the existence of gaps in treatment. A presence of a gap does not necessarily mean that an individual is not injured; it is likely that the individual was not experiencing any pain or problems. Thus, it is impossible to avoid a gap in such cases. In other circumstances, it may be that the individual was sick and unable to make the appointment or they were out of town for whatever reasons and thus could not make the appointment. It is important though that the individual informs their attorney about such gaps and the reasoning for them so the gaps cannot be used against the plaintiff.
While gaps may be an issue, it is of the utmost importance that the injured individual follows the doctor’s orders. Not only is this important for the individual to achieve full recovery, but that may be the deciding factor as to whether an injury heals or becomes a permanent problem. Therefore, it is in your best interests to follow the treatment provided by your doctor.
Young Wooldridge, LLP is a full-service law firm serving Bakersfield, California and all of Kern County. Our firm is recognized as a leader in the community, and we offer and extensive and wide variety of legal services including, but not limited to water law, personal injury, business law, employment and labor law, estate planning, real estate, and much more. Please reach out today to talk to a member of our team.
Rate this Post
Loading...