After a car wreck, pain starts to set in. Your body is hurting and you don't know why. You seemed fine at the scene. Now all you want to do is lay down, but even that hurts. Where can you go?
What Do You Do Right Away?
If you feel pain right after a car wreck, you want to go to the emergency room or any other doctor that you can get into. The reason is to make sure that there are no life-threatening injuries that you cannot see. You want to make sure to keep an eye on internal bleeding, brain bleeds, and broken bones or fractures you can't see. Typically, a hospital will get you in and discharge you with a diagnosis, a recommendation for a follow up appointment, and any medications they feel are necessary for you.
What Do You Do Next?
Next, you want to go home, rest and keep an eye on the pain levels. If they begin to go down, you don't have to do anything but stretch and wait for the pain to go away. It would not be a bad idea at all to go and get checked out by your primary care doctor or a family doctor if the pain goes away. This is to ensure that nothing life-threatening is lingering below the surface.
However, if the pain continues, you need to get to a doctor or chiropractor for medical treatment. Many times, your primary care doctor or family doctor will NOT see you. Do not be surprised or have hurt feelings if these are the words you hear. At this point, you need to find a doctor or chiropractor that focused on patients from car wrecks. Many times your normal doctor can refer you to one.
Will The Insurance Company Pay For My Medical Treatment?
The other driver's auto insurance will not pay for your medical treatment. What the adjuster will tell you over the phone is they will after you get the treatment and submit the bills to them. They will then only pay what they want to pay for those treatments. It doesn't matter what you actually paid or still owe. Let me repeat, the other driver's insurance, which is the driver that broke the traffic safety rule causing the collision, will NOT pay for your medical treatment.
If the other driver did not have insurance, that means they were an uninsured driver. If you are fortunate and carry UM/UIM, which is uninsured/underinsured auto insurance, then you can make a claim on that policy. However, they will not pay for your medical treatment as it goes. You again have to complete treatment and submit the medical bills for them to evaluate. Then, they will decide if they want to pay or not.
Since The Insurance Company Won't Pay, What Do I Do?
You need to get better. That is the end of the story. You need to get medical treatment and get back on your feet as soon as possible. You need to be able to get back to the life you lived before someone chose to violate a safety rule and change your life. You need to be able to get back to making a living and providing for your family.
One option we always recommend is using your personal health insurance. This is a great resource because you will get excellent medical treatment without having to worry about paying out-of-pocket or the cash value of the services. Your insurance company will get paid back their money from the other insurance company through subrogation, but it is worth it to you to get your medical treatment. You need to get better. I highly recommend this option if you have health insurance.
If you do not have health insurance but can afford to pay for the medical treatments as you go, then do that. This is rare, but it does happen. This allows you to get medical treatment and continue forward toward a recovery.
If you do not have health insurance and cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment out of your pocket, then we always keep a list of board certified doctors where our clients have had great experiences at. Their offices are easy to work with and will really take the time to care about you because they are not worried about the insurance nonsense. The best aspect of these doctors is they are willing to testify on your behalf in court, which is really important when the defense will say you are a liar, exaggerator, or fraud. These doctors will come to your defense and show you are not. You really were seriously injured in that wreck. They will teach the jury how you were injured and how they were able to provide you medical treatment to get you back to where you were before the wreck. These doctors and chiropractors will work with you on the bills knowing that the wreck wasn't your fault. They will agree to get paid when you recover from the other insurance company (or your own insurance company if the other driver did not have insurance).
Whether you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Midland/Odessa, or anywhere in Texas, we have the resources to find you all the medical treatment that you need for your case.
What Records Do You Need To Keep?
No matter what route you took, you need to keep a list of all the out-of-pocket expenses you paid for your medical treatment. This includes if you paid cash for an appointment. It also includes any co-pays or deductibles for your health insurance. Keep the receipts.
You also need to keep a list of the time you missed work to get medical treatment. This allows us to know what dates you missed and the reason to include in our list of how you were impacted by this car wreck. Otherwise, at the end of your treatment or whenever is necessary, we will gather your medical records and bills from the doctors office and include them in our package to the insurance company.
If You Need Any Answers To Questions, Just Reach Out.
As always, just reach out if you need us to answer some questions or point you in the right direction. I know it is frustrating and disappointing that you are being treated this way by the other insurance company. You didn't ask for this, but that is why we are here. We are here to help you along the way.
Even if you are not ready to hire a lawyer, call our office. I'd rather you be informed and know your rights about what you need to get back on your feet and back to your life than wish you knew. So give us a call or email us, we would love to hear from you and help. If you would rather read my book on personal injury and wrongful death claims in Texas, download my free book called The Essential Guide For Your Texas Injury Case. I wish you nothing but the best.