1) Not seeking immediate medical attention after the accident. It will be hard to prove that your injury was serious if you did not get medical help very soon after the accident.
2) Not informing your doctor about every pain and discomfort you feel as well as all of your pre-existing health conditions. You will not get the right treatment for your injury and you will not get a large settlement form an insurance company if you provide incomplete information. Give all this information in writing to your doctor, so that nothing is missed in their report.
3) Not insisting that your doctor refers you to a specific medical assessment. Be very detailed in explaining your injuries to the doctor, so that they are satisfied that you require a specific medical assessment (e.g. MRI, CT scan, X-Ray, etc.).
4) Not attending or being late to medical appointments. The history of your attendance will be available to the insurance company and may cause them to believe that your injury was not serious and you did not attempt to get better.
5) Not informing your doctor about the negative effect of your injury on your ability to work and perform daily activities of living. If this information is mentioned in a doctor’s report, it will add a lot of credibility to your own statements to the insurance company.
6) Discussing with your doctor the details of your legal case or lawyer's advice. Remember that everything you discuss with doctors is not privileged and they may be required to repeat this information in court. Thus, do not discuss the strategy or any other details of your case with your doctor.
7) Not taking medications as prescribed by your doctor. Do not give a chance to the insurance company to say that you are not following your doctor’s advice, as this will seriously hurt your case. If any medications cause side effects, request a different medication from your doctor.
8) Not getting assessed and treated for anxiety and depression. Compensation for psychological damages is usually only awarded if such damages are medically documented and treated.
9) Not completing your medical treatment. Stopping or significantly delaying your treatment may show to the insurance company that your injury has healed when, in fact, it did not. This will affect the amount of compensation you receive, especially for the future medical treatment.
10) Not accumulating and organizing medical documents. Keep contact information of every doctor you visit as well as all medical referrals, prescriptions, reports, work restrictions and other documents. All these documents are evidence supporting your claim for compensation.
