Auto Accident Lawyer Indianapolis, IN
If you have been injured in an accident, an experienced auto accident lawyer will recommend you follow doctor’s orders to mitigate your damages for injuries you received from the accident. Unfortunately, every day that goes by after sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle accident, exponentially reduces the value of your claim for damages and allows the insurance company to argue that you did not mitigate or lessen your damages.
There are a number of reasons why injured people hold off treating, and I hear every one of them when people call me weeks or months later to explain why they didn’t see a doctor for injuries that have since become difficult to live with. The following is a short list of rationales heard by every auto accident lawyer from potential clients who have been injured through little or no fault of their own:
- “It’s nothing…I can treat myself and move on.” – Most of us self-diagnose at one time or another. We feel that we already know what the doctor is going to say and how he or she will treat us for an injury. It is possible that your injury is very minor and that you can effectively treat yourself, but wouldn’t you rather know at once and begin treatment straightaway if you have incurred an injury that can only be seen and correctly diagnosed by a radiologist or medical professional?
- “We live in a litigious society; I am not that kind of person.” – The term litigious society is bantered around by the tort reform crowd. Over time it has taken on a negative connotation by an uninformed public and is used to push the tort reform agenda to cap limits on the amount of money a plaintiff may recover for a serious catastrophic injury, brain and spinal injuries, a blatant act of medical negligence or the wrongful death of the primary family breadwinner – a one size fits all form of compensation. Do not allow a special interest group of lobbyists to dictate what is in your best interests.
- “I have no health insurance; I don’t have the money to visit a doctor.” – If you have an automobile insurance policy and have not waived medical payment coverage, your insurance company will pay reasonable medical billings up to the limits of your med-pay policy. Your auto accident lawyer will work with your medical providers to subrogate the remainder at the conclusion of your claim.
- “I can’t miss work for what seems at this time a minor injury.” – Minor injuries can develop into major problems, particularly where the spine is involved. A bulging disk received in an automobile accident may initially cause very little pain, yet over time can lead to a debilitating pinched nerve. If you are worried about missing work because of an injury received in an accident, you should know that your auto accident lawyer will request compensation for any loss of wages, past and future, in your Complaint for Damages.
It is your responsibility to obtain a timely diagnosis and consistently follow-up on your doctor’s recommended plan of treatment. This well-timed action on your part is likely to improve the amount of compensation your auto accident attorney Indianapolis, IN trusts recovers on your behalf.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at Ward & Ward Law Firm for their insight into auto accidents and personal injury.
