Why You Should Not Discuss the Details of Your Case With Your Doctor
The most important thing to do after getting injured in a car crash is to seek medical treatment. You need a qualified medical professional to diagnose all your injuries, provide stabilizing treatment, provide pain relief and determine what ongoing treatment is needed.
When you meet with the doctor, you should discuss all your symptoms in detail. Do your best not to leave anything out. You do not want to let an injury go untreated and potentially get worse. Waiting to get treatment could cause your recovery to take longer.
However, while it is important to discuss your injuries in detail, you should not discuss specific details of your car crash claim with the doctor. Below, we discuss the reasons why and how statements about your claim could come back to haunt you later.
Your Doctor Needs to be Focused on Your Injuries and Treatment
A doctor’s job is to treat people who have an injury or illness. It is important to explain what caused the injury (you fell down or were in a crash) but how it happened can create medical documentation problems.
Doctors may recommend, follow-up appointments with specialists, testing, surgery and more.
That is why the doctor needs to know everything about your injuries. You should give a detailed explanation of how you are feeling and what your symptoms are. Where are you feeling pain? Do you have limited mobility? Do you have a headache or blurred vision? These are types of questions you may need to answer when meeting with a doctor following a car crash.
Your doctor does not need to know about your insurance claim. In fact, most doctors do not want to become involved in your claim any more than they need to be. If you start giving your doctor a lot of details about your claim, it may affect his or her willingness to treat you or even to reach conclusions about the cause of your injuries.
Your lawyer might need your doctor to record a deposition or testify at trial. However, your attorney can determine if this is necessary, which means you do not need to discuss it with your doctor. If you tell the doctor, you may need him or her to testify, he or she may not want to continue providing treatment.
Doctors have a lot of patients to meet with and provide treatment, whether they are at their own office or in a hospital. They need to be efficient in their discussions with patients. It does not make sense to get bogged down in a conversation about your claim. You want the doctor to be focused on you and your injuries. Doctors may not want to continue treating a patient who keeps talking about his or her case.
Dangers of Discussing Your Case
Whatever you tell your doctors is likely to be noted in your medical records, including statements you make about the case. Doctors often try to document as much as possible when meeting with patients to provide treatment.
Talking to your lawyer about your case is confidential, but statements you make to others should never be considered confidential. In fact, your medical records are evidence that the insurance company will review. You may have said something that could be used against you, such as a statement that sounds like an admission of fault.
Statements made to the doctor could contradict statements you make later to the insurance company, or statements made in a deposition or at trial. Insurance companies are always looking for some way to attack the victim’s credibility.
Making statements about the value of your case also have no place within a medical appointment. The insurance company will use these statements to claim you are only after money and are not injured. The insurance company’s first offer of compensation may be far below the amount they find in your medical records.
You should also avoid telling your doctor about things you talked to your attorney about. Conversations with your attorney are confidential, unless you reveal what was said and it gets documented somewhere else, like your medical records. For example, if your attorney says it may be tough to validate your case, the insurance company may think it has a good chance of success if the case makes it to court. The insurance company may be less likely to try to settle the case in good faith.
Give Us a Call Today to Discuss Your Claim
For decades, the licensed Bloomington auto accident lawyers at TSR Injury Law have been taking on insurance companies to secure the compensation our clients need. Our services come at no upfront costs, so there is no financial risk in being represented by our firm.
We are ready to discuss how we may be able to help you. Contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation.
TSR Injury Law. Experienced Lawyers. Ready to help: (612) TSR-TIME.
One of the most important things to do after being injured in a car crash is to seek medical care. You do not want your injuries to get worse because of a delay in treatment. The sooner you start getting treated, the sooner you can complete your recovery.