After your car accident here are a few tips to ensure you and your injuries are properly addressed:
1. Don't Ignore any new symptoms/complaints that begin soon after an accident. Many people often ignore stiffness and sorness after an accident, thinking it will 'go away'. Although sometimes this is the case, the majority of the time these are the first signs of something more serious is going on, often leading to long term issues. Injuries after car accidents have been shown to often take days or even weeks to fully manifest.
2. Do not speak to anybody from the insurance company until you have been properly evaluated by a healthcare professional who understands these types of accidents. Many times, people go to emergency departments, to get 'checked out'. Although this can be a good idea for more serious conditions, many times, emergency rooms miss these subtle initial symptoms and once more serious conditions are ruled out, they send you on your way. You can't honestly answer questions regarding your injuries, when you aren't even sure what damage has been done!
3. Seek out care with a provider/office/facility that treats car accident injuries regularly! You want to make sure that they have experience treating these conditions, that way they know what to look for and how to maximize your recovery and care. Be vigilant in the offices you choose to work with, look for reputable experts in the field who not only understand your injuries, but also have a great reputation, as often if they do not, your injuries won't be properly cared for and the responsible insurance company will scrutinize you, your injuries and care you received.
4. Work with ethical providers who will put your injuries and you first. Many providers in this field of care, only care about the financial gain and not about helping you. Unfortunately these offices are well known to insurance companies, and are often under investigation, leading to more headaches and stress for you. At your appointments, never be shy about asking questions, or asking for credentials. One trick to weed out the ethical providers, ask for a Good Faith Estimate , which is required to be provided by federal law when requested.
5. Many times, your personal insurance may not cover injuries sustained in a car accident, which often leads to surprising bills later on. Unfortunately, responsible insurance companies often try to send checks to injured people as quickly after a car accident as possible, in order to avoid paying for bills they are responsible for. Understand what your health insurance will and will not cover, and make sure never to accept a check from an insurance company until you know all the bills you are responsible for (and until you are sure what injuries you have sustained, and received the appropriate treatment, and gotten better!
The key to this is, even if you feel 'okay', get checked out by a reputable provider who understands and treats car accident injuries. Make sure before you have any conversations with the responsible insurance company, you have all the infromation needed to make sure you and your injuries are taken care of!
If you have been called by somebody claiming to be from the insurance company or a medical facility, click here for more information
If you would like a free consultation (virtual available upon request) with one of our healthcare providers to answer your questions/concerns regarding possible injuries you sustained, click here to set up a time for an appointment!