After an accident occurs, whether it be an auto accident, dog bite, or slip and fall, it’s always important to seek out medical help immediately afterwards, even if there are no apparent injuries. Since injuries don’t always manifest themselves until days after an accident takes place, doing so allows the physician to learn to address non-visual injuries as well as those forthcoming. If your injuries are of a serious nature, it’s even more so important to see a medical professional to have any prospect of recovering compensation for them.
As a general rule of thumb, many of us tend to place a great deal of trust in our relationship with a physician and his or her diagnoses. This relationship can have negative implications however.To avoid mistakes, it’s important to follow these rules when communicating with your doctor about your accident:
Things to Discuss with your Medical Professional
When you first visit a doctor to diagnose and treat your injuries following an accident, it’s important to anticipate the information you’re going to discuss. It’s also important for you to tell the doctor about every symptom that you have experienced after the accident. This includes every symptom – regardless of its severity – especially the non-visual ones such as emotional distress.
It’s also important to discuss the details of the accident, such as how it happened and any unique features of your driving style. Disclosing how the accident happened and how you generally operate the car can be effective in helping the doctor locate possible other injuries and symptoms that might rear their head at a later point in time.
Things to Avoid Discussing with your Medical Professional
While it’s important to feel a degree of openness in talking with your medical provider, it’s also prudent not to discuss certain things as well. Despite doctor-patient privileges that are in place to keep information disclosed private, certain topics are exempt from this privilege. An example of information that can be potentially exempted from HIPPA privacy laws in place are situations in which a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time an accident occurred. Such disclosures, if they’re in turn reported by the physician to the appropriate authorities, can result in a court proceeding and at the very least, a shift in liability.
Avoid Signing Any Document, However Incidental it May Appear
When it comes to insurance companies, (even your own),the actions they take are not always made in your best interest -however convincing they may seem. If you’ve had an auto accident and you’re under the treatment of a physician, it’s imperative that you do not sign any document that allows disclosure of your medical records to third parties. Equally important is that you not provide any verbal confirmation to an insurance adjuster that you’re willing to consent to their disclosure either.
Seek Legal Advice from an Experienced Attorney
If you have any questions regarding what to discuss with a medical professional or you’re unsure how to handle persistent requests from insurance adjusters, an experienced San Antonio car accident lawyers can help answer your questions. To ensure the absolute best protection of your rights, it’s also important to maintain consistent communication with an attorney from the time immediately after the accident occurs. Doing this, especially in the case of a debilitating injury, can provide you with immediate relief from the insurance company and creditor’s calls and get you the compensation you need and deserve.
Following these simple steps in communicating with your medical provider will go a long way in protecting your rights and greatly impact the integrity of your case should it need to be litigated as well.
