You are injured- what must you do?

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS OBTAIN MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR INJURIES YOU SUFFERED IN AN ACCIDENT.

When you are taken to the hospital, you are the best reporter of what’s wrong with you. Don’t wait for the doctor to tell you what’s wrong with you.  Volunteer the information. After all, doctors are not mind readers, and the best method for directing their medical attention is for you to vocalize your difficulties. Sometimes, we encounter the athletic/masculine type of client who is to machismo to tell the doctor what is hurting them. At other times, we encounter the timid wall-fly woman who is afraid of her own shadow and fears telling anyone of her suffering. Don't let your sense of pride prevent you from reporting your injury. Get medical attention promptly after suffering an accident. How can we help you if you won’t even help yourself?
CALL RUBIN-ZYDORF AND ASSOCIATES.

Contact us immediately to promote your legal interests. If you have been reading the content of our website, you will realize that the field of personal injury is a matter of serious complication.  You will rest easier knowing that all details for preserving your claim are being taken. We can make sure your medical bills are submitted to the appropriate parties, that your lost wages are appropriately documented, and that your life suffers the minimal amount of interruption precipitated by your injury. Beware of who is offering to pay you medical bills, and disclosing to any of your medical providers the nature of your own health and auto insurance. There are many considerations to take into account when determining who will be paying your medical bills in the first instance. Most people have different sources for medical bill payment, including health insurance, automobile insurance, worker’s compensation, the other driver’s insurance carrier and letters of protection. All of these sources require balanced consideration before they are accessed for payment. Don’t think you know what to do, because, more often than not, the primary question is not whether your bills will be paid, but rather, it’s a question of who should be required to pay first, how much and in what order or priority. 

LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR

What would be the point of obtaining medical treatment, and then failing to follow your doctor’s recommendation for follow-up care? You must remember that, when you are attempting to document the severity of your injury, missed doctor’s appointments suggest that your injury was not that serious. Each time you visit the doctor, your complaints make it into the doctor’s record, so that later, when your doctor provides copies of his medical file for submission to the insurance company, your complaints of pain, discomfort and medical concerns are well documented. When your doctor prescribes medication for pain, your failure to fill the prescription suggests that your injury is not that serious.  When you suffer in silence at home, thinking you are going to be compensated for your pain and suffering, your failure to document your injury through medical treatment will suggest that your injury was not very serious. Remember, you need to document the progression of your injury if you want to receive fair compensation. Maintaining a diary of your treatment, the difficulties you encounter in your daily life, the changes to your normal living schedule and hardships you encounter in dealing day-to-day with your injury is also critically important. If you think about the other topics I have written about which suggest that the process of pursuing a civil lawsuit can take some time, having to remember the details of your injury long after you have completed our course of treatment can be incredibly difficult in the absence of a record or your day-to-day experiences. Sometimes, cases can languish in the court system for years, and your ability to refresh your recollection of past events with a daily chronicle you created is instrumental in promoting your cause to secure fair compensation. 

OTHER ISSUES TO BE AWARE OF:

• Follow your doctor’s recommendations and obtain follow-up medical care as required;
• Keep a log of your treatment, and your day-to-day functioning as it relates to your injuries. Record lifestyle changes and hardships on a daily basis.
• Discuss aspects of your case with only your lawyer and no one else. Only you and your lawyer need to be concerned with your efforts to secure fair compensation.
• Save all documentation evidencing your injury, including pill bottles, crutches, casts, braces, torn clothing, broken glass, broken glasses or other items to verify the extent of your injury or the impact of the injury upon you body.
• Keep detailed financial records of extraordinary expenses you incur in dealing with your injuries
• Make sure your employer understands that your absence from work is due to an accident, and obtain verification of your position of employment, job responsibilities; lost opportunities, lost wages and benefits.
• Keep receipts of all expenses you incur for transportation, medical and/or home care, canceled events, unused tuition charges, etc. etc. The variety of losses sustained in as diverse as the color of flowers.  Just keep records and let your lawyer determine what is necessary and what may be discarded.
• Daily diary: document with a hand written entry the nature and extent of your pain, it’s intensity, frequency, and just as important, the means and methods you employ to reduce or eliminate your suffering.