- Not seeking medical help immediately. This is the most common mistake, because many people only realize they are hurt days after an accident. By then, you have risked your health by not treating your injuries early, and risked your case. Waiting to see a doctor tells the insurance companies that your injury wasn’t “that bad,” which means your compensation will be less. The best thing you can do for yourself and for your case is to see a doctor immediately after a car accident, whether or not you feel injured at the time.
- Fibbing about prior injuries. You’ll be asked if you had any prior conditions affecting you before the accident, and it might be tempting to blame the accident for an old football injury. However, if it’s discovered that you gave your doctors inaccurate information, their medical opinions could be rejected by insurance companies as being unreliable. It’s not worth it to lie. On the other hand, do tell your doctor if the accident aggravated an old injury.
- Not reporting pain accurately. Insurance companies look at your medical records, specifically how soon and how often after the accident you reported pain. The best way to keep an accurate account of how you feel between doctors’ visits is to record your healing process in a journal. That way you can give your doctor, and by extension the insurance agents, more complete information.
- Ignoring depression and anxiety that result from your car accident. It’s common to experience mild to severe anxiety while driving after a car accident, but few realize that they can be compensated for this. If the anxiety or depression is diagnosed as injury-related by a medical professional, you may receive compensation to cover treatment, medication, pain and suffering, just like any other injury.
- Asking your doctor for legal advice. It’s not their job, and you want your doctor focused on helping you recover, not trying influence your case (even if they’re willing to do so). Also, once you file a personal injury claim, anything you say to your doctor stops being confidential.
- Failing to show up for treatment and appointments. Few things are worse for your case than failure to follow your doctor’s orders, including showing up late for medical appointments, or missing them entirely. Excuses, no matter how good, don’t make it into the record.
- Stopping medical treatment, or not taking prescribed medication. Not following your doctor’s advice can ruin your claim. If you experience side effects from medication, ask your doctor to switch drugs until you find one that works for you. Similarly, don’t stop treatment or let significant time go by between treatments, since insurance companies will assume your injuries are healed.
