I’m tough, and I was just in an accident. I’m hurting, but should I go to the hospital?
When negotiating a claim with an insurance company, the claims adjuster or defense counsel almost always bring up how the Plaintiff responded to the accident. “Well, they didn’t go seek medical treatment for three full days after the accident,” they’ll always exclaim.
How you respond or react to being in an accident, as a practical matter, always has an impact on whether an insurance company will pay your claim. To them, they consider your reaction to being in the accident of utmost important.
Steve Harrelson, a car accident lawyer Little Rock, AR trusts, says that if you are injured, the most important thing to do at that moment is to seek medical treatment. “The most important issue in your life is your health and well-being,” says Harrelson. “It doesn’t matter if you’re supposed to be at a meeting in 15 minutes or if you don’t like hospitals. If you are injured, drop what you’re doing and seek medical treatment.”
So…I don’t care how tough you are – if you are injured, go get yourself treated! Many victims of negligence refrain from getting in an ambulance or going to the emergency room for a variety of reasons: cost, priority, etc. But, if you are injured and need medical treatment, the most important thing to do at that moment is to get yourself well.
Many times, medical professionals will tell you that a gap in treatment is to be expected from injuries. Sometimes, a stiff neck or broken hand may not be noticeable until the day after the accident. Being in an accident can be accompanied by shots of adrenaline, and you may not initially realize that you are hurt.
However, while perfectly normal, this can translate to an insurance company to be interpreted that you weren’t hurt in the accident. Sometimes, they’ll even take it a step further and imply that if you waited a day or two to seek medical treatment, that you must’ve been coaxed into it by a lawyer or someone else for money or greed reasons. As a car accident lawyer Little Rock AR respects might attest, while preposterous, you should expect this type of response when submitting a claim for bodily injury.
For these reasons, it is imperative to hire a veteran litigator and experienced trial lawyer who has been involved in representing injured victims for years. Steve Harrelson, a veteran car accident lawyer Little Rock AR, has successfully presented car crash cases to juries in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. If you have been injured in a car accident, the lawyers at the Harrelson Law Firm stand ready to help.
Thanks to Steve Harrelson and our friends and co-contributors from Harrelson Law Firm, P.A. for their added insight into providing counsel to injured victims in motor vehicle accidents.
