I Declined Medical Treatment at the Scene of My Accident. Can I Still Pursue a Claim?

In many accident cases, the people involved feel “fine” immediately afterward. A day or two later, they’re still stiff and sore. Sometime after that, they start experiencing significant pain. In those situations, many people worry that they cannot pursue a claim since they didn’t seem injured at the time of the accident. Fortunately, this is not the case – you can still pursue a claim even if your injuries were not immediately apparent.

Delayed Injuries Are Very Common

Thanks to the safety features that are standard in modern vehicles, many people are able to literally walk away from a car accident. Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you weren’t injured. The tremendous forces exerted on your body in a car accident can result in serious injuries that aren’t always immediately apparent:

Soft tissue injuries
Whiplash
Internal hemorrhaging
Concussions
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and other mental or emotional trauma

Any of these injuries can require weeks or months of recovery and extensive medical treatment. If left untreated, they could get worse or lead to further injury.

Symptoms that You May Be Injured

Many people will start to experience symptoms within a few days of their accident. Unfortunately, they may ignore their symptoms or fail to recognize the connection between the accident and the pain that they are now experiencing. The most important thing is to listen to your body. If you begin experiencing any of these symptoms, you should seek medical treatment right away:

Headaches
Abdominal pain or swelling
Tingling, loss of feeling, or loss of movement in your extremities
Back pain
Blurred vision
Confusion, clouded thinking, or memory loss

These symptoms may be indicative of a serious injury and ignoring them could put your health at serious risk.

The Steps You Should Take

If your doctor confirms that you have suffered a serious injury, you may decide that you need to pursue a claim against the other driver. In that case, you need to take the following steps:

Notify your insurance company that you were injured in the accident.
Keep copies of your medical records related to your accident.
Keep copies of all medicals bills related to your accident.
Follow your doctor’s orders.
Document your injuries, the damage to your vehicle, and the scene of the accident by taking pictures with your smartphone.
Contact any witnesses and obtain their statements.
Contact an experienced car accident attorney.

We realize that this is a lot to keep track of, especially when you are in pain and trying to focus on your recovery. If you are feeling overwhelmed, your attorney can help you through this process and handle many of these steps for you.

Call the Atlanta Car Accident Attorneys at Slappey & Sadd

Founded in 1992, we’ve helped thousands of people across the state of Georgia get the compensation they need to get back on their feet. We work tirelessly for our clients from the very first meeting until the conclusion of their case to ensure that they are fully satisfied with the result. If you’ve been injured in a car accident and don’t know where to turn, contact Slappey & Sadd by calling 888-474-9616 for a free consultation.