Many Fort Worth area residents often wonder what it is they should do following an auto wreck. This is an important question as making poor choices can harm a victim’s ability to receive compensation for their injuries. We are writing this article to discuss two things you should do immediately following an accident. First, you should seek immediate medical care. After you have been to the doctor you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
It is crucial that you seek immediate medical treatment after having been injured in an auto accident. The reason for this is that you reduce the credibility of your claim by failing to do so. Say, for example, you are involved a crash and you hurt your back. If you wait two weeks to go the doctor then the defense lawyers will have been given multiple arguments to use against you. First, they will argue that the injury likely occurred through some other event that happened after your accident but before you went to the doctor. Second, they will claim that your injury could not have happened in the wreck; the thought process being that if you had been injured and were in pain then you would have sought care immediately. By seeking immediate care you eliminate these arguments.
Another benefit of seeking immediate treatment is that you reduce the possibility that your injury will worsen. If you are injured, and wait to treat, then you may aggravate the injury further. This can lead to recurring medical problems or other conditions. Such a situation can leave you in permanent pain or with other limitations. Also, if the defense’s medical experts can show that you aggravated the injury by not seeking medical care then any damages stemming from the aggravation will not be recoverable; you can only recover damages for harm which was actually caused by the defendant. There is, therefore, no benefit to waiting to seek medical treatment.
You should speak with an auto accident attorney immediately after you have gained medical care. Typically, the victim of an accident will immediately be contacted by the defendant’s insurance company. Dealing with the insurer, without first speaking with counsel, increases the possibility that you will be offered a “low ball” settlement. Such a settlement will also likely not include amounts for future medical bills and future lost wages if your injuries are severe. Contacting a lawyer as soon as possible helps to ensure that your interests remain protected.
Contact an attorney today if you have been injured in a car accident due to another’s negligence. You should retain a firm which has extensive support staff, employs its own investigator, and prides itself on the results it obtains for clients. These traits are necessary regardless of whether you were injured in Fort Worth, or Texas counties including Tarrant, Dallas, Johnson, and Wise counties as well as Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Haltom City, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Watauga, Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, Arlington, Keller, Grand Prairie, and Dallas.