It Hurts to Be Told You Aren't Hurt
As a Delaware personal injury lawyer who handles car accident cases, I always tell my clients that the number 1 rule is to tell the truth. Sometimes, telling the truth is not enough if your medical records don't support what you're saying. Here's a typical example of what happens
On 12/16/09, actress Anne Hathaway was in a minor traffic accident in Los Angeles. Newspaper accounts of the accident say that she was not injured. It would be interesting to talk to her a week after the accident to see how she’s doing. Why? because it's not unusual to be in a car accident and think you’re okay. You tell the cops that you aren’t injured, and you refuse medical treatment. That night, the next day, or even a few days later, you begin to feel pain or soreness. You think to yourself that it’s normal to feel some pain - after all, you were just in an accident. You go about your normal routine. If you’re lucky, the pain goes away completely. In some cases, however, the pain lingers. Once again, you assume that it’s only a minor injury and that you’ll return to normal in the near future.
You continue to hurt, you complain about the pain to your spouse, and you still don’t see a doctor. After a few months, you finally realize that this isn’t going away, and you reluctantly call your doctor’s office to schedule an appointment. After the medical exam, the doctor tells you that you have cervical (neck) and lumbar (back) strain and sprain, and that you need physical therapy and drugs.
At some point you think about making a claim for your injuries, and you contact the other driver’s insurance company. The claims representative takes your statement over the phone, gets your medical records, and tells you that you waited such a long time to see your doctor that it appears the pain you’re complaining about is not related to the accident.
So what should you have done? As soon as you start to feel symptoms of pain or soreness, get checked out by your doctor. There’s no harm in playing it safe. Your own car insurance company will pay for the visit. If it turns out that your doctor says “take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning,” consider yourself very fortunate that you weren’t injured and you don’t have a personal injury claim. On the other hand, if your doctor prescribes pain killers and muscle relaxants, or prescribes physical therapy, you’ve helped your personal injury claim because you got medical attention early on and your medical records will relate the symptoms to the accident.
It’s great to be stoic and put off seeing a doctor following an accident. Unfortunately, this way of dealing with things could come back to haunt you later on when the insurance company accuses you of being dishonest.
