Your car accident settlement offer depends on factors set in motion long before you ever see an attorney. Here is what you can do to maximize the traffic injury accident offer you get:
- Go to a doctor immediately: Insurers question auto injury claims which are not supported by contemporaneous medical chart notes. Even though chiropractors and naturopathic doctors often provide more attentive service than a medical doctor, auto insurance adjusters still disfavor claims where alternative care provider is the primary source of care. In addition, waiting for treatment allows insurers opportunity to point to another cause for your traffic accident injury.
- Get it in the chart notes: Tell your medical provider all your symptoms in specific detail. Be sure your medical provider accurately documents your chart notes. Give the same history to all medical providers. Consistency adds to credibility. In the eyes of an examiner, information in reports are truer than information that comes from a mouth.
- Correct medical records: Should the physician delay or refuse to provide your records, take steps to immediately obtain them. Delay in providing chart notes is a clue that your physician may not want you to see something in the chart notes. If a doctor does not support your claim, you will want to find out right away. Doctors rarely reveal unfavorable opinions to their patients. Medical records more accurately reveal a medical providers true feelings and opinions.
- Fire bad medical providers: Some medical providers smile to your face then undermine your auto claim in the chart notes. Successful auto injury claim resolution is nearly impossible when one’s own medical provider does not support the auto injury claim. Seek medical care from physicians and therapists you trust. Show the new medical provider the unfavorable chart notes and ask your new doctor to address the bad opinion in writing supported by objective evidence.
Having experienced legal counsel during negotiations with insurance companies after a car crash can be very important to the outcome of the claim. At Rizk Law, the Portland auto accident lawyers in our Portland office have a proven record of success helping accident victims and we only get paid when we obtain a recovery on your behalf.
Rizk Law – Free Consultation. Ph: 503.245.5677.
