The aftermath of a personal injury can be difficult to navigate. Victims can incur many different types of painful and debilitating symptoms. However, there are certain steps injured parties must take in order to recover financial compensation for the harm they incurred.
For instance, a gap in medical treatment may inhibit your personal injury claim’s chances of success. Plaintiffs must obtain official documentation of their injuries to recover compensation. Also, defendants and their insurance companies may use a gap in medical treatment to say that you were not truly hurt. Accordingly, you should see a doctor as soon as possible after suffering a personal injury. A personal injury attorney can help find the right physicians for you.
If you were injured because of another person’s negligent actions in Maryland, get help obtaining the payment you deserve. Reach out to our experienced Maryland personal injury lawyers by calling Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291. Our attorneys can provide a free review of your case.
Can a Gap in Medical Treatment Affect Your Maryland Personal Injury Claim?
You should seek prompt medical treatment after suffering a personal injury in Maryland. A delay in medical care can impact your personal injury case in the following ways:
Lack of Documentation
A doctor must document your injuries in order for you to recover damages in a personal injury claim. Potential plaintiffs may wait for their injuries to heal on their own. However, if you let your injury heal on its own, you may be unable to obtain proper documentation of the harm you incurred.
Accordingly, you should not wait to seek medical care after suffering a personal injury. The medical records and bills provided by your doctor will be crucial when building your case. Our Baltimore personal injury lawyers can help find the right physicians for you.
Disputed Severity of Your Injuries
Additionally, a gap in medical treatment can allow defendants to dispute the severity of your injury. In most personal injury cases, defendants are represented by insurance companies who will hire teams of people to refute aspects of plaintiffs’ claims. If there is a gap in medical treatment in your case, the defendant’s insurer may assert that your pain must have subsided, and that you are not truly hurt. Our Maryland personal injury lawyers can help fight the insurance company and obtain the full range of damages available to you.
Disputed Link Between the Accident and Your Injury
Lastly, a gap in medical treatment may allow defendants to dispute the link between your injury and the accident at issue. For instance, if you did not seek medical care quickly after suffering a car accident, then a defense lawyer may assert that your injury was caused by something other than the crash.
You must prove that your injury was caused by the defendant’s negligent conduct for your personal injury case to succeed. By shifting blame for your injuries onto some subsequent incident, an at-fault party may avoid paying for the damages you suffered. The assistance of our experienced Gaithersburg personal injury lawyers can be very valuable when proving that a defendant is at fault.
When Will a Gap in Medical Treatment Affect My Maryland Personal Injury Claim?
Defendants and their insurers regularly use gaps in medical treatment to dispute elements of victims’ personal injury claims. However, many plaintiffs question what constitutes a gap in medical treatment. First, gaps in medical treatment can refer to situations where victims let extended periods of time pass between the dates of their injuries and their first medical appointments. Second, gaps in medical treatment can also occur when victims let delays occur between medical appointments related to their injuries.
Accordingly, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible after suffering a personal injury. Furthermore, you should attend all of your doctor’s appointments on time and continue taking your prescribed medications. Our Hagerstown personal injury lawyers can help keep an insurance company from using a gap in medical treatment to dispute your personal injury claim.
Ways to Avoid a Gap in Medical Treatment
There are steps you can take to avoid creating a gap in medical treatment. Taking the following actions can help your personal injury claim’s chances of success:
- See a doctor as soon as possible after your personal injury
- Schedule and show up for follow-up appointments
- Be honest about your pain when talking with your physician
- Reach out to your physician immediately if your injury worsens
- Preserve copies of your medical bills and records
- Preserve records of your medical appointment schedules
- Do not return to work if you have not been cleared to do so
- Take your prescribed medications on-time
- Do not speak about your injuries on social media
- Do not partake in activities that could exacerbate your injuries
During your free case review, our Maryland personal injury lawyers can evaluate whether a gap in medical treatment exists in your case. Furthermore, our team will fight insurance companies who falsely assert that a gap exists.
Are There Cases Where a Gap in Medical Treatment is Acceptable in Maryland?
There are cases where a gap in medical treatment is justified. For example, some personal injury victims sustain severe sicknesses that prevent them from attending their medical appointments. For instance, you may be so ill that your doctor suggested postponing your surgical operation as a safety precaution. Further, you may become so sick that you cannot participate in a physical therapy session because you do not have the strength. In such cases, plaintiffs can prove they have legitimate reasons for medical treatment gaps.
There are several acceptable reasons for a gap in medical treatment. Our Kent County personal injury lawyers can help prove that a gap in medical treatment was justified in your case.
If You Suffered a Personal Injury in Maryland, Our Attorneys Can Help
If you were injured because of another person’s negligent conduct, seek assistance from our experienced Ocean City personal injury lawyers by calling Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 to review your case for free.