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Should you always visit a doctor after a car crash?

On Behalf of | Apr 18, 2023 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

Maybe you are the type of person that muscles through minor injuries or illnesses and never even considers visiting a doctor for them. That’s all well and good, but it could be a problem if you do it after a vehicle crash.

Here is why it’s best to get medical attention no matter what after a wreck:

1. Sometimes you are more injured than you imagine

All sorts of injuries can occur in a collision. Some are highly visible; others are invisible to the untrained eye. Yet injuries of either kind can be life-threatening, which is why you cannot take the risk. You need a qualified doctor to check you really are OK.

2. Not going could hurt any compensation claim you make

Let’s say you did your usual after the crash. You figured you would cope and that the pain would soon go away of its own accord. A couple of weeks later, you realize that your back or knee is not healing as fast as you thought and is causing more bother than you imagined it would. So you decide to file a claim.

If you file a belated claim, the insurer will want proof that shows your injury occurred in the crash. If you never visited a doctor, you won’t have that, and the insurer might argue that you picked it up since the crash. 

You need something to tie the injury to the crash, and that is what getting a medical checkup straight after the crash can give you. Even if you told the doctor at the time that you thought it was nothing, they would have noted down that you had pain in that area immediately after the crash.

It’s wise to get legal help to understand your options whenever you’ve been involved in a car crash. That way, you can fully understand the extent of your claim.