Managing your medical treatment after you have been injured will help you medically get better and help document your personal injury claim.
So, you've been injured in an accident and need to see doctors. Maybe you were rear-ended in Pennsylvania on Route 422, Route 73, or Route 100. Maybe you fell on ice in Collegeville, Phoenixville, Pottstown, or Montgomery County somewhere. Regardless of how or what happened, you need to see doctors who can help you get better.
Here are five tips to remember:
1. If you are having symptoms, make a doctor's appointment. It sounds simple, but many people wait, hoping and thinking it will go away. The problem with waiting is that it is not the best thing for you medically, and that gap in time without treatment will negatively affect your case. The insurance company will use that gap against you to argue that it was not as serious or that you weren't really having the symptoms.
2. If you feel that the doctor you are seeing isn't paying enough attention to you and your injuries, or isn't taking your complaints seriously enough, you should consider a second opinion. You deserve to have a doctor that is committed to helping you get better by paying attention to your concerns. Obviously, doctors are very busy, but that shouldn't be a reason for not being attentive to you.
3. See the right type of doctor for the type of symptoms/injury that you have. Specialists exist for a reason- they are experts in their area of practice. So, if you have a foot/ankle injury or a back injury, you may be seeing an Orthopaedic doctor, but perhaps you can find one that specializes in the foot/ankle or the back.
4. Tell the doctor at your appointment everything that is hurting you and what activities affect your symptoms. The doctor needs to know this to help you. It is also important to medically document how your activities are affected, because that is what the insurance company will use to review your personal injury case.
5. Don't exaggerate your symptoms. It's not honest. More important, that won't help the doctor diagnose your problems. It also won't help your case because if the doctor indicates you are exaggerating, then it could negatively impact the insurance company's evaluation of your personal injury claim. Tell the doctor all of your symptoms, be thorough, but be honest. That will serve you well.
