If you have ever gotten sick on a weekend, then you know what a hassle it is to go to the emergency room on a weekend. Unless you have a visible serious injury or are obviously severely ill, then you can expect to wait for a very long time. Beyond that, it is no fun to sit around for hours, wearing only a hospital gown in the air conditioning, and cell phone reception in hospitals is notoriously poor, so you are lucky if you are even able to send a text message to your family to let them know where you are. Therefore, if you are able to walk away, or even drive away, from a minor car accident, the emergency room is the very last place you probably want to go. However, a visit to the emergency room, no matter how inconvenient, after a car accident is a valuable investment of time, however, if you should end up needing to file a lawsuit in relation to your accident.
The More Documentation, the Better
Imagine that at the time of your car accident you feel fine, but several days, or even several weeks, later, you begin experiencing neck pain. Many car accident injuries do not begin hurting immediately, even though they can result in chronic pain that can be very difficult to treat. Going to the emergency room right after your accident is the best way that you can prove that your injuries are the result of the accident and not of anything else. If you do not get documentation from the emergency room on the day of the accident, then it will be your word against the other driver’s. Without documentation from the emergency room, the other driver can make the argument that it is impossible to be certain that your pain is not from an old sports injury when you were in college or from an injury you sustained after the accident. While you are in the emergency room, you should also have your injuries photographed, if you have any visible injuries.
Your Primary Care Doctor’s Role
If the accident happens on a weekday, why can’t you just go to your regular doctor to be seen on a walk-in basis? You can, but it is better if you go to the emergency room on the day of the accident and then follow up with a visit to your primary care doctor a few days later. This way, you will have reports from two different doctors that you can use as evidence. Besides, your primary care doctor can provide a piece of evidence that the emergency room physician cannot provide. Your primary care physician knows your medical history and can attest to the fact that your pain began at the time of the accident and not before.
Contact Walton Telken, LLC About Car Accident Cases
Walton Telken, LLC serves the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Kirkwood, Missouri, and Edwardsville, Illinois. Contact Walton Telken for a consultation about your car accident lawsuit.
The information provided by Walton Telken, LLC in this Blog is not intended to be legal advice, but merely provides general information related to common legal issues. This Blog, and the information contained within it, is Attorney Advertisement. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.
