California is a state with a high volume of motor vehicles driven by people in a rush. This transportation maelstrom spawns over 200,000 annual injuries from traffic accidents. A large number of those injured require immediate medical attention and are taken to the emergency room or go straight to their doctor immediately, after reporting the accident.
Other California auto accident victims feel fine or just a little shaken and return home right away. Days later they begin to feel the painful effects of the crash. They become concerned that they may not be eligible to receive compensation from their insurance company because they procrastinated. How long do they have before seeing a doctor and filing a credible claim?
Some Injuries Have No Immediate Symptoms
Many injuries do not manifest for hours, days or even weeks in some cases. A large percentage of people who are involved in auto accidents choose not to see a doctor right away, because they have little or no symptoms of an injury. Even a broken bone may not be painful at first due to the effects of adrenalin that rushes through the body. The reaction of the nervous system to the event itself may hide the pain of an injury. This is quite common following a car crash.
Proving the Cause of Your Injuries
The failure to seek medical attention right away does not prevent a person from receiving the compensation they deserve for their injuries. People delay seeing a doctor all the time without forfeiting their right to a claim. The key to success is being able to prove that the accident caused the injury.
The closer in time that the medical attention was to the traffic accident makes proving that the accident caused the injury much easier. Waiting weeks or even days increases the likelihood that some other event may have been the cause.
The insurance company or opposing counsel will try to prove that your injury may have been caused by your job, a hobby, altercation, sports activity or anything other than the accident. Accepting medical treatment at the scene, places a time and date stamp on your injury as does seeing a doctor right away. It is not really about how long you took to receive medical attention following the accident, but what occurred in your life in between. Returning to the hockey rink would make a claim a lot more difficult then returning to your ergonomic workstation.
It should now be evident that delaying medical assistance can possibly scuttle your claim, even if you felt fine at the time. It is more complicated than just the amount of time that passed. If you are in any accident, be wise and get checked as soon as possible.
Reach Out to a California Auto Accident Attorney
The insurance company is not your friend. It is imperative that you avoid approaching them with your claim without legal counsel. The insurance company is bulwarked with skilled lawyers and adjusters whose main objective is to prove your injury was not related to the accident. They will have their own doctors who will attempt to convince a judge or jury that your injuries were unrelated to the accident.
You must realize that their incentive is to give you as little compensation as possible for your present and future needs, to retain more money for the company. That is why having a skilled California auto accident attorney on your side, who is aware of their tactics, is crucial to lifting the burden from you and maximizing your claim.
Vititoe Law Group has successfully advocated for countless victims of California Traffic accidents, winning the highest awards possible. Even if you delayed seeing a doctor until your pain became unbearable, we can still win your case. We will not charge you one cent until we do. Reach out to Vititoe Law Group at 818-851-1886, or contact us online, for a free initial consultation.
