Victims should get medical care as soon as possible after a car accident, whether by visiting the emergency room or seeing their regular doctor in the hours after a crash. However, patients will need someone to provide continuing care related to the crash after this initial treatment—and that often means choosing someone other than a primary care doctor to treat crash injuries.
Choosing the Right Doctor to Treat Your Car Accident Injuries
Insurance companies will only provide payment if you have proper medical evidence of your injuries. For this reason, you will need an injury doctor who will thoroughly document the cause, treatment, and long-term effects of your injuries in your medical records. The best choice for your ongoing treatment is someone who has experience treating car accident victims and who specializes in your specific type of injury.
A specialist can be invaluable to your health and your case by:
- Documenting what happened to you in the accident. A specialist who has treated car accident victims before can give a medical opinion on how your injuries were sustained in the accident (such as a head striking a steering wheel), making it more difficult for insurers to deny the claim.
- Addressing any pre-existing conditions. Your specialist can identify whether the accident aggravated a previous injury or condition you had suffered in the past, allowing you to claim an additional amount to treat these conditions.
- Ordering tests, referrals, and specialized treatments. In addition to performing blood tests and ordering imaging studies (such as MRIs or X-rays), specialists may refer you to physical therapists, occupational therapists, and vocational rehabilitation experts who can fully evaluate you to determine the full range of your suffering and losses.
- Giving a prognosis on future medical care. Although every accident is different, a specialist who routinely treats crash victims has the ability to predict how these injuries will affect patients later in life. Some common complications that may be noted in your medical record include permanent impairment ratings, an estimation of future medical needs, and your ability to work, perform self-care, and enjoy life.
If you are struggling to recover payment after a car accident, we can take over the fight on your behalf to get you the compensation you are owed. Simply fill out the short contact form on this page or request a free copy of our book, The 10 Worst Mistakes You Can Make With Your Tennessee Injury Case.
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