Mediapolis Personal Injury Attorneys

Many people fail to realize how important their interactions with the doctor are when treating an injury, whether it happened in a car accident, a work injury, or any other type of personal injury near Mediapolis. Not reporting pain and how the injury is affecting daily life will limit the information documented in medical records and affect a doctor's opinion of the injury. Beyond medical care, injured Mediapolis residents also face decisions about whether to accept an insurance settlement and who should be paying their medical bills in the meantime. The Mediapolis personal injury attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair want local residents to understand all three.

Avoid These Mistakes When Dealing With Doctors After an Injury

Common mistakes can make a difference in your case, whether you have been hurt in a car accident, a work injury, or any other type of personal injury near Mediapolis.

Failing to See a Doctor Immediately

It is your responsibility to prove that you were injured. If you have any pain or problems, seek medical care right away. Insurance companies and juries often believe that if you did not seek immediate medical attention, your condition may not be related to the accident. Even relatively minor pain can lead to bigger problems later, so see a doctor as soon as possible.

Talking With Your Medical Providers About Your Claim

The job of your medical providers is to focus on your injuries and provide treatment. They do not need to know about your lawsuit or your attorney in order to treat you. Whatever you say in confidence to your medical providers is not confidential when you bring a claim for injuries, since anything you tell them will end up in your medical records. You will, however, need to tell your medical providers how you were injured.

Attempting to Hide Your Health History

Your doctors will usually ask if you have previously had any injury to the same area of the body. Be honest and do not try to hide prior problems, since they will eventually surface and all your prior medical records will be made available to the insurance company. The same goes for describing the accident honestly. The insurance company and its lawyers will attack your credibility with anything they can find.

Showing Up Late or Missing Appointments

When you fail to attend an appointment, your medical record will show a no-show. More than one missed appointment can make it look like you did not care about your medical treatment, and it can also upset your doctor, who may not make a good witness on your behalf. If you need to reschedule, call at least 24 hours in advance.

Having Your Pain Improperly Documented

Insurance companies and juries want to read about your pain in your medical records, including how quickly you reported it, where it was located, how bad it was, and how long it lasted. Writing your pain and limitations out beforehand and giving your doctor a copy can help. Do not exaggerate, since doctors are trained to look for inconsistencies. When asked to rate pain on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst imaginable pain, keep in mind that few people have suffered pain worse than an eight in their lifetime.

Stopping Medical Treatment Too Soon

Insurance companies and juries often believe that when a person stops seeking treatment, they must be healed. Significant gaps between treatments can be used against you, suggesting you healed from the original injury and sustained a new, undisclosed one. If your doctor says to come back as needed and your problems have not resolved within a few weeks, go back and be seen again.

Do You Have to Accept the Insurance Company's Settlement?

In Iowa, you do not have to accept an insurance company settlement offer, but there are several things to keep in mind. Are your injuries minor enough that you may be better off settling the case on your own to avoid paying an attorney a percentage of your settlement? If your medical bills have been paid by your health insurance or another insurer, who will be reimbursing them? This is called subrogation and can cost you your entire settlement if you do not know what you are doing. How much time do you have until the statute of limitations expires? If you don't know the answers to these questions, it is worth contacting a qualified Iowa injury attorney, since failing to do so could cost you thousands of dollars, or your entire case.

Settlement Negotiations

It is rare that the insurance company's first offer is their best offer, so try to negotiate if you are representing yourself, keeping a few things in mind. Anything you tell the insurance adjuster can and will be used against you later if there is a lawsuit, so be careful, but do not lie, since insurance companies share claims history in a database and prior injuries or accidents will likely be discovered. It is not a good idea to threaten the adjuster, since being nice generally gets you further than being upset. Know your facts, including how the injury happened, who you treated with, and the conditions you have been diagnosed with.

How to Evaluate the Value of a Claim

Several factors go into evaluating a claim's value, including the severity and extent of the injuries, whether multiple body parts were injured, whether there are objective injuries like broken bones, whether hospitalization or surgery was required, how much time was missed from work, and how much insurance coverage is available, including whether a claim for underinsured motorist coverage might apply. Before agreeing to any settlement offer, speak with a qualified Iowa injury attorney to find out if you are being treated fairly.

Who Should Pay My Medical Bills Near Mediapolis?

Who pays your medical bills varies depending on how you were injured. If you were injured at work, generally your employer or their insurance company must provide medical care and treatment, and pay for all treatment they offer. If your work injury claim has been denied, the employer's insurer loses control over your medical treatment and may be responsible for paying bills from providers they did not approve.

Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Accidents and Dog Bites

If you were injured in a car or truck crash, it works differently. Rarely will the other driver's insurance company make payments for your medical bills as they are incurred, even when liability is obvious and they have already paid for property damage. Insurance companies routinely make payments only at the time of a final settlement, when they can obtain a release. You should instead look to your own health insurance from an employment benefits package, your own personally purchased health insurance, health insurance obtained by a spouse or parent for your benefit, medical payments insurance coverage from your own policy, coverage through HealthCare.gov or Medicaid if you are uninsured, or your own personal funds.

Handling Insufficient Funds and Subrogation

If there are insufficient funds to pay medical bills, it may be possible to arrange for a provider to be paid directly from a settlement or verdict, which health providers will sometimes accept rather than pursuing collection in the meantime. Keep in mind that almost all insurance policies have a subrogation provision, which simply means they require reimbursement if you obtain money for your medical bills from another party or insurance company.