After An Accident, Get Medical Assistance

Getting into an accident brings a lot of different emotions. It’s common to feel anxiety, fear, anger, and even embarrassment during a traumatic event, but no matter what you’re feeling, you need to get medical assistance as soon as possible. It’s been pointed out in the past that even if your injuries don’t appear to be serious, there can be an underlying injury that’s impossible to detect just by looking at it. Even more importantly, getting medical assistance is essential to every personal injury case and can affect the total awarded damages.

Medical Bills

The most clear-cut form of damages repayment comes from the total cost of your medical bills. Medical services with or without insurance is expensive, so a lot of people tend to try to “tough it out,” but after an accident, it’s not worth taking the risk. A traumatic brain injury that seems like a “simple” bump on the head can actually turn into a lifetime of medical issues. Getting medical treatment will establish the extent of the injuries and provide a roadmap for recovery. If the recovery process includes physical therapy, and additional doctor’s visits, this is also calculated in the total damages.

Pain and Suffering

The term “pain and suffering” is often used conversationally as a way to diminish the trauma of what happened to victims of negligent driving, but it’s actually a powerful tool for damage calculations in a personal injury case. It is a way to measure the full extent of the injuries and how the event impacted the victim’s life. For example, once someone has been seen by a medical professional, what is the prognosis? Does the victim have to undergo physical therapy to achieve the level of mobility they once had? Are they permanently disabled? Did they have to miss work or change careers due to the lasting effects of the injury? Can they ever work again? How will that affect the lifestyle they built before the accident? These questions can only be answered by medical professionals.

When examining the pain and suffering from this angle, it’s easier to understand exactly how effective this can be for a personal injury case. This brings the “human element” to the damages calculation. People can generally empathize with a victim if they can appreciate exactly how that person’s life has changed and how long they have to continue living in these conditions. However, without evidence, such as medical records and documentation, this step is essentially impossible to reach. 

The Future of the Case

Medical treatment not only strengthens the case, but it’s critical in showing that the injuries are genuine and the case is credible. It demonstrates the need for compensation in all of its forms, especially the financial impact the injuries have had. The initial medical prognosis could be better than the reality of the injuries. For example, a doctor can initially assess that a broken arm will heal normally and return to its original condition after removing the cast. However, as time goes on, even after physical therapy, the affected arm still doesn’t have the mobility it once did, or the victim continues to feel pain, it may require unexpected surgery. This surgery is required as a direct consequence of the negligent party, even if it’s been months or years since the incident. Without the medical documentation to back it up, it will be extremely difficult or even impossible to have this procedure covered through a personal injury claim.

A lot of people have the fear that a doctor won’t take their injuries seriously or that the cost of medical care will overwhelm their finances, but as a victim of negligence, you still have a right to get your life back to normal. At the firm of Ashley Armstrong, we’re dedicated to providing essential care to our clients and utilizing community efforts to bring justice to those who need it. For a consultation, call or text 850-977-3229 today.