Two things happen in the three days after a crash. Injuries that adrenaline hid come forward: the stiff neck that was not there at the scene, the headache that will not quit, the low back that locks up getting out of bed. And the insurance company starts a clock. Every day between the crash and your first medical visit becomes an argument that you were not really hurt, or that something else caused it.
Go, the same day if you can
An emergency room visit on the day of the crash, or an urgent care or primary care visit within a day or two, establishes the baseline. It documents your complaints in a medical record written before anyone had a claim to think about, which is why adjusters and defense lawyers take it seriously.
If you went home from the scene feeling fine and woke up hurting, go now. A gap of a few days is explainable. A gap of several weeks is where claims go to die.
Describe everything that hurts
Patients minimize. They mention the thing that hurts most and leave out the rest. Tell the provider every area of pain, every symptom, and anything that has changed since the crash: sleep, concentration, dizziness, numbness or tingling, mood. Say that you were in a car crash and when. The record of that visit will be read by people who were not in the room, and what is not written down did not happen.
Follow the plan you are given
If the discharge papers say to follow up with your primary doctor in a week, do it. If they refer you to an orthopedist or for physical therapy, schedule it. An insurer’s second-favorite argument after the treatment gap is the missed referral.
How to pay for it
This is where many people stop treating, and it is the step we most want you to call us about.
Your health insurance pays first in most cases. Use it. Your insurer may later claim reimbursement from the settlement, which we negotiate at the end; that is a far better problem than untreated injuries.
Medical payments coverage (MedPay) on your own auto policy pays medical bills regardless of fault, usually a few thousand dollars, with no deductible. Many people do not know they have it.
Treatment on a lien means a provider agrees to treat you and wait for payment from the settlement. We work with providers across Northwest Indiana who will do this for our clients when health insurance is not an option.
The other driver’s insurer does not pay as you go. They pay once, at the end, when the claim resolves. Waiting for them to pay for treatment is waiting for something that is not coming.
Keep a simple record
A notebook or a note on your phone: the date, what hurt, what you could not do that day. Not a diary. A line or two. Six months from now, when an adjuster asks what the first month was like, this is how you will remember.
Next: Part 4, the phone call from the other driver’s insurance company, and why the friendliest adjuster is the one to be most careful with.
This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice about your situation. Laws change and every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about the facts of your case.