After an accident people’s main focus is on dealing with the immediate aftermath. Vehicle repairs, insurance claims, taking time off work, and getting around can all be quite pressing. Even when injuries appear to be minor at the start, medical treatment can often be seen as less pressing. Delaying getting medical help can have bigger consequences than just your own recovery. In Australia, there’s a big role for medical records when it comes to personal injury claims. These records provide the proof that shows an accident actually caused the injuries that happened afterwards. If you don’t get to see a doctor straight away, even for just a couple of days, the people reviewing your claim and the insurance companies may start wondering whether those injuries were actually caused by the accident. They may believe the injuries came along later because of something else you were doing. Studies across the Australian compensation systems have found that getting a delayed diagnosis, not sticking to consistent treatment and gaps in medical records can all have an impact on the overall outcome of your claim and how much you’re actually going to get.
Medical Records Are What Give Your Claim Some Real Substance
The medical evidence is usually the most solid basis for a personal injury claim. Emergency department records, a GP, specialist opinions and any scans you’ve had all help create a timeline of what happened after the accident. If you get medical help right away, those records prove that there’s a clear connection between the accident and the injuries you’re claiming for. If you leave it a few days before seeing a doctor, you’re creating a gap in that timeline that insurers will jump on. In that time they may argue that something else caused the injury or that you weren’t as badly hurt as you’re saying. Legal folks and claims assessors rely on medical records from around the time of the accident to work out who was at fault and how much they should pay out. This is why a lot of compensation experts, including ones like Stephen Young Lawyers, are always saying it makes sense to get a medical assessment as soon as possible if you’ve been in an accident. This applies even if you don’t think you’re badly hurt.
Putting Off Medical Attention Only Makes it Harder To Prove That the Accident Caused the Injury
When you’re making a claim for an injury, you have to be able to show that the accident actually caused the problem. Proving causation, that the accident directly caused the injury, is what a lot of the battle is about. The longer it is between the accident and when you see a doctor for the first time, the harder it is to prove that link. That’s especially the case with injuries that don’t always show up straight away. Conditions like whiplash, soft tissue injuries and mild brain injuries are all the sort of things that you might not even know you’ve got for a day or two after the accident. If you don’t get medical help until the symptoms get worse, insurers will be saying that it can’t be linked to the original accident. That’s a constant problem in Australian compensation claims.
Getting Early Help Can Make a Real Difference to Recovery
Prompt medical attention can really make a big difference in getting better and proving your injury claim. Medical research shows time and again that getting to the hospital right away makes a big difference in getting better. In Australia, transport accidents account for an awful lot, about 45% of those serious cases that end up in the major trauma centres. The numbers from the Australian Trauma Registry show that people who’ve been really badly hurt can end up stuck in hospital for up to 7 days. This is a huge burden on the hospital.
Delayed Treatment Can Raise Questions About Your Claim
Medical records are only half the battle. When you’re dealing with a claim, your insurer doesn’t just look at your medical history. They want to know how you behaved after the accident too. If you were in loads of pain but only got to the doctor a few days later you might find yourself facing questions about whether you were really that badly hurt. If you put off getting medical help for too long, it can make your insurer wonder whether your symptoms were minor or not really related to the accident at all.
Psychological Injuries Can Be Just as Bad as Physical Ones and Need Early Help Too
You can’t always see the injury. Things like anxiety, depression and PTSD can creep up on you months or even years after the physical bits of an accident have healed. Putting off getting help for these issues can make them a lot harder to treat. It may even make the whole compensation process a lot more complicated.
Getting Good Medical Evidence Helps Get Better Outcomes
When it comes to settling your claim, the quality of the evidence really matters. When you get medical treatment right away and keep going back to the doctor, your insurer gets a clearer picture of what’s going on with your injury and how it’s progressing. This makes it a lot easier to have a straightforward conversation about your claim and figure out a fair settlement.
