Why Medical Attention Is So Important After a Car Accident

Immediately after a car accident, you likely have a long list of things you want to get done—you need to get your car replaced or repaired, contact your insurance company, and figure out how much time you’re going to have to spend away from work. Your health may be low on your list of priorities, but it deserves to be at the top of the list.

Learn more about why it’s so crucial to seek medical attention after a car accident and how doing so can protect your claim. When you’re ready to get started on your personal injury claim, call Kingbird Legal at 484-289-4880.

Potential for Life-Threatening Injuries

You have to consider the risk of life-threatening injuries. You may feel fine at the scene of the accident or only have minor aches and pains, but that truly isn’t enough to prove that you’re not injured. There are injuries that are not immediately visible but can still be life-threatening. For example, internal bleeding is not generally visible right away. A small bleed can take time to build up, leaving you increasingly groggy, pale, and in abdominal pain. When internal bleeding is detected immediately, there is a chance to treat it and save the patient’s life. But when you wait until it’s obviously an emergency, the likelihood of death is much higher. The small chance of catching a catastrophic injury is worth the time it takes to get checked out after an accident.

Improving Your Prognosis with Prompt Treatment

Even if an injury isn’t life-threatening, it can still negatively impact your quality of life. Many injuries fare better when you seek immediate medical care. Consider, for example, a traumatic brain injury. The brain is known for its plasticity—its ability to recover from injury by building new neuronal connections using unaffected parts of the brain. However, the body’s ability to recover depends a lot on how quickly the TBI is identified and treated. If someone ignores the initial symptoms and goes about their daily life, their brain overworks itself and never gets the rest it needs to recover. On the other hand, immediate diagnosis and treatment may lead to a much better prognosis.

Connecting Your Injuries to the Accident

If you plan on seeking compensation for your accident—and you should, if someone else is liable for it—you’ll need to be able to prove that your injuries were caused by the accident. A big part of that is getting input from a medical professional. If you get checked out immediately after an accident, it’s fairly obvious that there’s a likely link between the accident and the injuries. If you wait a week, the insurance company is much less likely to believe you. After all, anything could have happened between the accident and your eventual checkup.

Mitigating Your Losses

When you plan on fighting for compensation after an injury, you have your own responsibilities to fulfill. In particular, you have to mitigate your losses by taking care of your injuries. That means not doing anything to worsen your injuries, seeking medical care promptly after an accident, and listening to your doctor’s recommendations. If the other party’s insurance company finds out that you have been skipping appointments, skipping your physical therapy exercises, or otherwise not complying with your treatment plan, they are less likely to pay out what you owe. They want to see that you are doing your part to make a full recovery and not dragging out the healing process for more money.

While you may have a long to-do list after a car accident, you absolutely must put your health first. Not only does prompt medical care protect your physical health and well-being, but it also protects your right to seek compensation afterward. Whether you get checked out at an urgent care provider or emergency room, make the time for a checkup.

Start Your Car Accident Case with Kingbird Legal

Once you’re ready to move forward with your personal injury claim in Pennsylvania or Washington DC, the team at Kingbird Legal is here to help you. Let’s talk about your accident, come up with a plan, and pursue the compensation you are entitled to. Reach out online or call us at 484-289-4880 to take the first step.