Can Medical Treatment Affect Your Personal Injury Claim?

Can Medical Treatment Affect Your Personal Injury Claim?

In a personal injury claim, a party is involved in an accident caused by the negligence of another. In some instances, the injury suffered is severe and in other cases it may be mild. However, if the victim fails to seek medical treatments immediately, it can result in severe implications, death, and difficulty in getting personal injury claim compensation.

It is crucial to learn that doctors can influence your personal injury claim in South Carolina based on the diagnosis and treatment plan. From proving that your injury is lifelong to increasing your compensation amount, doctors and medical treatments are vital parts of your injury case.

Different Ways Medical Treatments Impact personal injury claim

When the court is awarding damages in a personal injury claim in South Carolina, among other things, recourse is always made to the injury type and the nature of treatment that it requires. Over time, it has become increasingly clear that medical treatments can impact personal injury claims in different ways, and some include:

• Cause-And-Effect Relationship

Your medical treatment documents give details that can enable doctors to find the cause of the accident and the relationship with the injuries. Your medical records are your bricks, you can use to build your personal injury case in South Carolina. That way, you will have the right to say “This accident led to these injuries,” and that sentence should have medical pieces of evidence to back it up.

Note that you need to document all treatment procedures from day one. That way, you have a forensic record that details the treatment carried out and the costs incurred for them. These records will prove that the defendant is guilty of the charges against them, and medical evidence is like hammers in the legal world.

• Medical Treatment Records can Make or Mar Your Case.

Taking medical treatments for granted can cause you to lose your case. How? If you prove to be unserious about your medical treatment, the courts in South Carolina may believe you are not worthy to be compensated for the said injury. Also, they may take your claim for granted with the thought that your injury is not severe, hence the reason for skipping medical treatments.

Therefore, if your doctor says you need bed rest, then you should take time to rest and not engage in sports or recreational activities.

• Tracking Medical Treatment and Care

After filing for compensation and getting approval for medical treatment and care, all your treatment procedures will be recorded, and this will serve as your road map. Changes in health, medications, and modification of treatment plans will be recorded to help you get better care if the initial plan proved abortive.

Keeping records is almost as important as getting the right treatment when seeking compensation in personal injury claims. If there is a lapse in these records without a significant reason, you might not get the compensation you desire.

• The Length of Treatment

You will receive your prognosis, and your doctor will recommend a treatment plan for you as you recover from your injury. Your claim is for the duration of recovery as that impacts cost. That means your claim lasts until you fully recover from your injury, and that includes nursing care, medical devices, physical therapy, medication, and surgeries.

However, if your pathway to recovery will take an extended period, you might experience significant medical costs. The defendant is only responsible for the anticipated costs. That is, only for the injury you got and not for future complications as a result of treatments.

Conclusion

“If you wait too long to visit a hospital after an accident, it might weaken your case,” says Attorney Charles W. Whetstone, Jr. of Whetstone Perkins & Fulda. They may argue that your injury can be a result of another accident. Getting a diagnosis from a doctor immediately after an accident will strengthen your personal injury claim.