8 Details to Keep In Mind When Visiting an Emergency Room After an Accident

When you have been involved in an accident, it’s incredibly crucial to seek medical care immediately. Often, the first place you will attain medical care is at the emergency room. Emergency rooms are critical to your well-being after a severe car crash or other injury. Doctors will assess and diagnose your injuries at an emergency room and often take imaging to rule out something more serious.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 136 million people visit an emergency room each year in America, and 30 percent of these visits are due to injuries. If you have been involved and injured in an accident, it’s vital that you go to the emergency room. Often many do not recognize the severity of their injuries at the scene of an accident as shock can trick your body into thinking you’re okay. 

Whether you have been involved in a severe traffic crash, slip or fall, or workplace accident, you must play it safe and go to the emergency room. It just might save your life. Upon arriving at the emergency room, it’s encouraged to speak with an Ohio attorney from The Henry Law Firm. However, in the meantime, we have compiled this brief guide containing the eight details you need to keep in mind when visiting the emergency room after an accident.

Emergency Room Tips From an Attorney

Regardless of whether you’re involved in a slip and fall accident, car crash, or boating mishap, you need to seek medical care. Most people who suffer injuries after an accident choose to go to the emergency room or be transported there by emergency services. 

While this experience is not pleasant, you must remember a few details while receiving care in an emergency room. What happens in an emergency room can affect the outcome of your injury case.

1. Do not mention “lawyer” or “lawsuit”!

You might immediately know that another person’s negligence has seriously injured you, and as a result, you will likely be upset. Feeling worried about your future isn’t uncommon. Seeking a lawsuit or insurance claim to recover for your medical bills and injuries will cross your mind. While it may be tempting to vent about your emotions to doctors and nurses, it’s crucial that you resist the urge to talk about lawyers, lawsuits, or negligence.

When a patient starts talking about suing someone or hiring a lawyer, medical providers take note. They add these statements to your medical records, and may minimize your injuries out of fear of being dragged into a lawsuit. If your medical records have notations that you ‘repeatedly mentioned suing,’ it undermines the severity of your injuries. A skilled defense lawyer can take that simple fact and argue that all of your injuries are being exaggerated so that you can pursue a claim.

Doctors do not need to know if you are considering legal action. Your doctor’s job is to treat your injuries. Let the medical personnel do their jobs by focusing on the obvious task at hand. You will have plenty of time after the fact to discuss your legal options with an attorney.

2. Be wary of any paperwork you sign.

When you first arrive at an emergency room, you will be given plenty of paperwork unless you are severely injured. You will be required to sign certain forms before being allowed to receive medical care. When you’re hurt and in pain, it can be easy to sign what is given to you, but you need to be careful. 

You must make sure that the hospital bills your health insurance if you have health insurance; otherwise, the hospital may try billing your auto insurance. If your auto insurance is billed, the outcome will not be in your best interest. The bills may end up having to be paid out of pocket if the hospital believes you are pursuing a lawsuit. After your treatment, we can help you get your bills and complete the insurance claims process while you’re recovering from your injuries.

3. Emergency room doctors will try to determine the extent of your injuries.

Keep in mind that when you are visiting an emergency room for injuries, the doctors will examine you and determine if your injuries are life-threatening. If you are presented with the option of medical imaging like X-Rays, CT scans, or an MRI, be sure to accept. Having your injuries diagnosed quickly is critical both for your well-being and proving their relevance to your accident. 

Emergency room doctors do not conduct ongoing care with patients involved in accidents when their injuries aren’t serious. If they deem your injuries are not deadly, you will be discharged from the hospital and instructed to schedule follow-up care from a doctor or specialist. 

It’s incredibly crucial that you seek follow-up care. Often personal injury attorneys see clients trying to initiate cases where injured parties have not sought follow-up care, negatively affecting their case outcome.

4. Pay attention to what the nurse notes about the accident – it is important.

Many fail to realize that what they tell a nurse about the accident is usually noted in their medical file. If you give a lengthy description of what you believe happened, nurses are likely to paraphrase what you are saying, which could make you look bad or hurt any case you try to bring against an at-fault party. 

When a statement from a nurse is in your medical records, no one can remove it. If you initiate a case that goes to trial, it’s difficult to disprove statements recorded in your medical history. Additionally, jurors often don’t believe people who try and argue what a medical professional has recorded.

5. Ensure you tell the medical providers about all of your injuries.

AAccident victims commonly make the mistake of focusing on the injuries that hurt the most. It’s beneficial if you don’t ignore minor injuries when relaying your injuries to your healthcare provider. Often minor injuries become larger ones later on. This can become a problem because it can be challenging to prove that an unreported injury you are suffering from is a result of the accident. 

Additionally, any injury you report at a later date will incur extra scrutiny from your insurance company. In some instances, insurance companies will dispute any injuries you report at a later date. Moreover, if you give a detailed account of all your injuries, you will have a thorough medical history of your accident, which can help you win a personal injury case.

6. Do not be intimidated by the cost of medical care.

While in the emergency room, you need to remember that the charges are likely to be high. However, when treating for serious injuries following an accident, you should not concern yourself with attempting to limit treatment to keep your bills down. We want you to have a thorough diagnosis and treatment so that we can document the full extent of your injuries.  

If we can pursue a claim against an at-fault party, we will recover the amount of any emergency room payments in full. Also, when you hire an attorney from The Henry Law Firm, we can try and negotiate a reduction of excessively high hospital charges on your behalf.

7. Do not speak with an insurance company while in the emergency room.

Since it’s essential to avoid making critical decisions while receiving treatment in the emergency room, you need to avoid speaking with insurance companies during your stay. Insurance companies don’t have your best interests at heart and will try to offer you the lowest settlement possible. 

That’s why an adjuster will try and contact you while you are in the emergency room if you have called in your accident. Before speaking with the adjuster, talk with your attorney for guidance on what to say about your accident. 

You should always tell an insurance company that it is too soon to talk while in the emergency room. Once you have had time to think about your accident and speak with the relevant authorities and attorneys, you will learn how to navigate insurance.

8. Do not forget to call your attorney.

Lastly, you should alert your attorney about your accident and emergency room visit as soon as possible so they can assist you. An attorney can use the information you give them to try and piece together what the cause of the accident is and if you have a right to gaining compensation. 

They can also manage communications with your insurance company and promptly report the accident. Additionally, don’t forget to get all your hospital discharge paperwork before leaving the emergency room for your attorney.

Get In Touch With An Ohio Accident Attorney Today

By keeping in mind what we spoke of in this article, you will have a better chance of attaining a favorable outcome should you decide to take legal action. At The Henry Law Firm, we are well-versed in many types and causes of injuries, which makes us well equipped to handle many different personal injury cases. 

We care about you and want to see you receive the compensation you deserve. Your road to recovery is difficult enough without you having to stress about handling legal matters. Contact our legal team today so we can help ease the burden you are facing.