Following a doctor’s orders after a Charleston truck accident is critical for any victim of a serious wreck. Victims of accidents who are seeking compensation need to consider that by following medical treatment, they could increase their odds of a favorable outcome. Additionally, an attorney could help you do that.
Why Charleston Truck Wreck Victims Need to Follow Through with a Doctor’s Orders
Regarding a Charleston truck accident case, it is a mistake not to follow a doctor’s orders or follow up with medical treatment. In South Carolina, in Charleston in particular, and in any accident case, one of the main things is not to overreach and exaggerate the degree of an injury. It makes a victim’s injuries less credible.
If someone has a medical treatment plan laid out by their doctor and they fail to comply with it, several negative things come from that. One, there is the immediate argument or defense that the insurance companies could make. A defense team could claim that a victim may not be as hurt as they allege otherwise, they would have followed through with their treatment. The other is even if they are hurt, all this treatment that was recommended could have mitigated their damages and could have lessened them. If they had gone to the physical therapy appointments, they would have recovered faster and to a better extent, and they would not be stuck with the permanent, long-term injury that they have now because they did not do the treatment that was suggested.
It is always a mistake not to follow the treatment plan. It is always a mistake not to do what the doctors are asking of victims. It always reduces the value of the case when they are a noncompliant patient and does not do what is asked or requested of them by the medical professionals.
Treatment Gaps after a Charleston Truck Accident
A treatment gap could hurt a person’s case in Charleston. In South Carolina and Charleston in particular, when there are big gaps in treatment, it gives the insurance company and its lawyers the opportunity to argue that the individual must not be that hurt or the entry that they are claiming now is not from the car accident, the work accident, or whatever may have taken place, and that it must be from been something that happened later.
A classic example is when somebody gets hurt and goes to treatment for a month for their lower back. They wait three, four, or five months and then they go back to the doctor, because their back is still hurting. They get an MRI and the MRI shows a herniated disc. The injured party knows that they have not had any recent slip, trip, fall, wreck, or car accident, so they know that it came from that injury that they have been claiming in the case. However, the fact that they have not done anything for four or five months in between gives the insurance company a huge opportunity to argue that if that victim was hurt that badly, they would have been seeking treatment the whole time. The fact that they did not let them know that they were not hurt from the accident and something else must have happened in this five-month period that the injured party is trying to blame on the accident, which is unfair.
The insurance company could be wrong and that injury could have been from the accident that is the subject matter of the case, but that gap in treatment gives that insurance company a big opening to make those types of arguments to a jury and either win outright or, at the very least, diminish the value of what the case should be worth.
Limit the Chances of an Unsuccessful Claim with an Attorney
Following a doctor’s orders after a Charleston truck accident could cause unwanted obstacles that prevent you from recovering the compensation you need. Do not let this happen. Consult an attorney who could help you stay on the path toward a favorable outcome.
