Why You Need Medical Attention After an Accident

In the aftermath of an auto accident, your top priority should always be your health. Even if you feel fine, seek medical attention as soon as possible. The body frequently enters a state of shock after traumatic events, suppressing your pain response (and ability to self diagnose) with a flood of adrenaline. Making assumptions about your own health after an accident could put your settlement and even your life at risk. 

Medical Consequences

Some common injuries, such as whiplash, are relatively minor and rarely result in anything more than discomfort and pain. Why then, should you still be diagnosed and treated, even with only minor symptoms after a crash? The answer is simple: there’s no way to be sure that your symptoms are benign without a formal diagnosis from a medical professional.

Dizziness, sleep issues, blurred vision, and concentration issues, for example, can be caused by whiplash—however, these are also symptoms of a traumatic brain injury, which is almost universally either lethal or likely to cause lifelong complications when left untreated.

Left untreated, seemingly benign injuries could also get infected or deteriorate into serious conditions, threatening your life. Complications of this type are easily avoided with proper care and attention but cost exponentially more to treat down the line.

Legal Consequences

Beyond the risk to your well being, delaying treatment is likely to have legal repercussions and will jeopardize your settlement. Attorneys and insurance adjusters might:

• Question whether your injuries truly stemmed from the accident, or were simply received at a later time for unrelated reasons.
• Claim that your injuries were not as severe as you said they were, or else you would have sought medical care.
• Point out that any injuries that were the result of complications from your own lack of caution are exclusively your fault.
• Doubt whether you were even injured in the first place if you have no medical records or substantial evidence to prove it.

Furthermore, you might not be able to file a lawsuit or insurance claim in the first place if you fail to seek medical attention. Arizona’s statute of limitations limits your ability to recover damages to within two years of the accident, or from whenever a person would have discovered their injuries (such as with delayed onset injuries).

The Value of an Arizona Accident Lawyer

After an accident occurs, your well-being should come first, but shortly thereafter, it’s always a good idea to talk to a professional lawyer. Consulting an experienced personal injury attorney is the only way to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries. Contact us at (623) 877-3600 to schedule a free consultation—you can rest easy knowing that we’re handling all the hard parts of the claims process on your behalf, freeing up time for you to focus on your treatment and recovery.