How Treatment Gaps Hurt Your Injury Claim

Law Blog

If you are pursuing a personal injury claim, then you should know that any gaps in your medical treatment may weaken your claim. Here are some of the ways in which treatment gaps can hurt your chances of getting the right payout.

Creating Doubts On Your Injury's Occurrence

Some people commit insurance fraud by faking injuries and demanding compensation for them. This is particularly common with auto insurance claims. One way in which insurance companies separate genuine cases from fraudulent cases is by reviewing medical reports. Therefore, if there is a delay in your treatment, the insurance adjuster may claim that your injuries are not genuine. For example, they may claim that you incurred your injuries elsewhere and that is why you did not seek prompt medical care immediately after the alleged incident.

Lowering the Seriousness of Your Injuries

Even if you succeed in proving that your claim isn't fraudulent, treatment gaps or delay may still hurt your claim by making the insurance company doubt the seriousness of your injuries. The rationale here is that you were not as injured as you are claiming you were, because you wouldn't have delayed your treatment or stopped it prematurely if you truly needed medical help.

Reducing Your Medical Damages

Some people incur gaps or delays in their treatment by indulging at-home treatments instead of seeking professional medical care. Unfortunately, this is bad news because medical bills form a big part of personal injury damages, and you won't generate any medical bills if you treat yourself at home. Besides, the insurance company cannot even be sure that your home-based treatments were helpful or did not cause you further injuries.

Reducing Your Pain and Suffering Damages  

If there is doubt in the seriousness of your injuries, then believe that your pain and suffering damages may also be reduced. In fact, in some cases, you may even be denied pain and suffering damages because the more injured you are, the more your pain and suffering will be, meaning the reverse is also true.

Reducing Your Overall Damages

Every personal injury victim has a duty to mitigate damages after an accident. The liable party is only supposed to compensate you for the actions their negligence caused, and not those that stem from your carelessness. Seeking medical attention and following your doctor's orders is one of the ways of mitigating damages. Therefore, if there are delays or gaps in your treatment, your damages may be proportionally reduced to reflect your contribution to the same.

Hopefully, you won't be dealing with gaps in your treatment when pursuing your injury claim. All isn't lost, however, if you already have such gaps; a personal injury lawyer can help you minimize their effects on your claim. Talk to an office like Dunbar & Dunbar for more information. 

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