Do I Need a Lawyer If I Didn’t Seek Medical Attention After My Accident?

Hiring a lawyer will surely come across your mind after an accident. This is especially the case if the accident was the fault of another party and extensive property damage and/or bodily injury occurred. However, in regards to the latter, what if you didn’t seek medical attention? Should you still get in contact with a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer? Do you have a viable path for legal action if you neglected professional medical assistance?

The Importance of Medical Assistance

We recommend seeing a doctor even if injuries don’t manifest immediately. You should do this within 72 hours of the accident. Insurance companies consider this a “reasonable” time frame. After this time has passed, it may be more difficult to file an injury claim.

If medical personnel arrive at the scene of the accident, we suggest letting them treat you even if you feel fine. In the immediate aftermath of an accident, there is going to be a lot of things going on at once, and you may feel okay at the moment due to the adrenaline. However, it’s not unusual for injuries or chronic pain to manifest days or weeks down the line. Please let members of the medical team check on you. A doctor can determine whether an injury stemmed from the accident. It is not uncommon for whiplash injuries, for example, to not appear until several days later. This is true even of low-impact collisions with minimal damage to the vehicle.

Also, we suggest that you never declare to anyone that you feel fine after an accident. Those words may be used against you if a claims case goes to civil court.

Can You Still Hire a Lawyer?

With all of the above in mind, you can still hire a lawyer to deal with insurance companies that refuse to approve your claim. There will be more hurdles as the insurance company will cite your failure to seek medical aid as proof that you are not really hurt. However, you are not out of luck. If pain or other maladies begin showing up a few days later, please see a doctor right away. This should be your first course of action before phoning an attorney.

At this stage, you may want to contact a personal injury attorney at Ellis Law Corporation. Remember, insurance companies lose out financially if they have to pay out a claim. They will lawyer up to deny you compensation. You need a tenacious, knowledgeable lawyer on your side to fight for maximum compensation.

What Happens if You Don’t Seek Medical Attention?

When you file an injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company, they will question why you didn’t seek medical attention sooner. They will claim that you contributed to the worsening of your condition by prolonging medical assistance.

We want to stress, though, that even if you miss this vital step, a lawyer can still substantiate that the injuries you sustained was from the accident. There will, however, be a more uphill battle. The main takeaway here is to follow the 72-hour rule and see a doctor right away even if you feel okay.

Some accident victims do not see a doctor because they fear the cost and the possibility that the insurance company will not cover it. However, we can tell you from experience that your case is much stronger if you take the vital step of seeing a doctor.

Get in Touch with Ellis Law

Remember, you still have a pathway to filing a successful claim if you didn’t see a doctor right away. We advise getting in touch with one of our personal injury lawyers. A Los Angeles car accident lawyer can evaluate your specific case and determine whether you have a strong case for an injury claim. In any case, contact us if you feel an accident contributed in any way to lingering injuries or chronic pain.