If you suffer injuries as a result of a car accident, healthcare providers will play a key role by helping you try to achieve a quick full recovery and establish recoverable damages.
However, your health and recovery has got to be priority number one. Do not manage your recovery with an eye toward a potential future financial settlement.
Base your decision on selection of healthcare providers and how often you need to see them on medical condition only. Arranging more visits than necessary will not bolster a settlement down the road. Be up front on everything with your doctor. He/she needs an accurate health history from you. Prior accidents and serious injuries need to be disclosed. Withholding this information will hamper your doctor’s ability to make a sound diagnosis and solid recommendations. Rest assured the insurance company already has this information. Don’t distort the facts of your case. Don’t tell your doctor your car was totaled, for effect, when in reality it had a mere scratch on the bumper. Your doctor doesn’t need surprises on the witness stand. And it puts your credibility in doubt—never a good thing.
Don’t exaggerate your symptoms either. Make sure your doctor fully understands your current symptoms, but don’t embellish. Not only will that impede your treatment, it also stands to embarrass you if you are caught on videotape doing a bunch of things that may contradict with what you told your doctor. Make sure to follow through on your doctor’s recommendations. Keep all your appointments and take all your medications. Follow your doctor’s orders! A full recovery should be your first and foremost concern, not a future financial settlement.