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Personal Injury Lawyer Warns of Need for Medical Treatment

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Posted by Tim Semelroth

image of medical record file

How to Protect Yourself after an Iowa Car Accident

As a new personal injury lawyer fresh out of law school, I thought I was serving my Iowa car accident clients well when I warned them about being taken advantage of by the auto insurance industry. I spent a lot of time alerting people about unfair auto insurance tactics like trick questions during recorded statements, ridiculously broad medical release forms and low-ball settlement offers.

Insurance Companies Use Medical Records Against Car Accident Victims

It took a few years of seeing how the insurance industry used my clients’ medical records before I realized I needed to do more.

The auto insurance industry uses auto accident victims’ own medical records against them all the time. Say the wrong thing in a doctor’s office or fail to mention one of your injuries to a therapist and you can be sure that you will get a lower settlement offer than you deserve.  That is how I learned that personal injury attorneys do not really protect their clients if they do not warn them about the mistakes that can be made while going to the doctor after a car accident.

Common Medical Treatment Mistakes Made by Auto Accident Victims

It is scary how an auto insurance company can twist innocent things in a medical record when it does not want to pay a claim.  Simple things like:

  • Not going for medical treatment immediately after a wreck
  • Not following up with doctors or therapists after the initial appointment
  • Failing to mention a change in the way you feel or new pain to your medical provider

After a Car Accident, Get Checked Out By a Doctor ASAP

After a car wreck, it is your job to prove that you were injured. Get medical attention as soon as possible after the crash. Auto insurance corporations will argue that if you weren’t hurt badly enough to see a doctor right away, then you weren’t hurt badly enough to deserve compensation.

Make Sure You Treat Consistently Until Your Crash-Related Injury is Healed

An auto insurance company will not take your word for how long your injuries last after an accident. They will want proof – that means medical records documenting any pain or disability caused by the crash. Failing to follow up with a doctor or therapist may be all the excuse that the insurance company needs to avoid paying a fair settlement.

When It Comes to a Personal Injury after a Car Accident, It is Better to Be Safe than Sorry

Unfortunately, for many car accident victims, it is hard to know whether a crash-related injury will heal quickly or whether it will lead to a lifetime of problems.  That is why it is important to treat every car crash injury seriously from the beginning.  If you don’t immediately try to get your personal injury appropriately treated and documented, the other driver’s insurance company will always have an excuse to pay you less than what you deserve.

The Best Way to Protect Yourself is to Learn More about Iowa Car Accident Claims

Those are just a few warnings about medical care I should have been giving my car accident clients from day one, and I never forget to tell them now.   Read about these warnings and more by using the form on this page to download your free copy of The Law Guide to Iowa Car Accident Claims.

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