After Your Car Accident . . . Get Necessary Medical Care

If you are seriously injured in your car accident, you will be taken to the closest hospital where you will get necessary medical care.

However, not all injuries result in bloodshed, or even immediate pain. Many times, people involved in car accidents don't even know right away that they have been injured. One reason for this is that your body responds to pain signals and the stress of your accident by producing morphine-like hormones called endorphins. Endorphins mask the pain until later.

Over and over, clients have told that they felt no pain at the scene of their accident, or even later the same day. But the following morning they woke up feeling like they had been run over by a truck.

Other credible clients have reported to me that they didn't have any symptoms for even longer than that, for several days or a week or more.

Whenever after your car accident you feel symptoms of an injury -- pain, numbness, dizziness, not feeling like yourself . . . whatever -- get medical care!

Don't assume that your injuries will clear up on their own. Do the safe thing and get checked out.

If your doctor diagnoses an injury and begins treatment, continue the treatment until your doctor releases you.

There are several reasons why it is important to get medical care if you have symptoms of an injury . . . and to complete your treatment.

The obvious reason is that your doctor can determine how seriously you are injured and can provide the treatment you need. Among other things, treatment helps you recover more quickly and makes you more comfortable while you are recovering.

In addition, your doctor's records of your visits verify the nature and duration of your injuries. This verification is essential if you later make a car accident injury claim.

I strongly urge you to get copies of your your medical records, read them and have your doctor correct any errors that you find.

When you review your records, pay attention to the description of your car accident. This is usually part of the first entry in the records. Did the doctor get it right, or did he misunderstand the facts? Does the report say that your car was struck on the right, when actually it was on the left? Does it say that you were going 45 when you were really going 25?

Adjusters and defense lawyers will use errors like these to try to prove that the accident didn?t happen the way you say or, at least, to show that you are not consistent with your story.

Also make sure that the medical records accurately state your symptoms. For example, make sure that the records show your symptoms on the correct side of your body. Make sure that all of the main symptoms that you told your doctor about have been recorded in the records.

Finally, check to make sure that your medical history is correct in your doctor's records. If your doctor has written that you have a history of neck problems like the one she is treating, but you don't, have that corrected. If you make an injury claim, the defense always looks at your medical history to find something that they can argue is the "real" cause of your current symptoms. So make sure that your medical history is correct in your doctor's records.

Click here to go from this discussion of getting necessary medical care to a general discussion of what to do after your accident.