One problem I see on a regular basis is that people will go and see a doctor after a car accident but they expect the doctor to ask them questions to gather information. I point out to my clients that doctors are not mind readers and their diagnoses and treatment are only as good as the information given to them by their patients.

With this in mind I tell my clients that it is extremely important that when they go and see their doctor(s), that they MUST talk to him or her about all of the problems they are experiencing, even if they are not sure it is related to the collision. As a practical matter it is not unusual for people to have symptoms such as dizziness, word finding problems, or pain in a part of their body that they don’t recall being impacted in the collision. Far too often I have the injured person tell me that they have other pains which they have been experiencing, but they haven’t mentioned it to their doctor because they are hopeful it will go away with time or they don’t think it is related. I would urge that even if you don’t think a symptom is associated with the collision you were in, tell your doctor about it anyway. Let your doctor make the determination of whether something is related or not because it is not unusual at all for a person to experience pain in an unrelated part of their body, but it ends up being related because they have medical conditions such as trigger points (which is pain in one part of the body that is being generated by a nerve in another area) or, most commonly seen by me, concussive symptoms which start well after the collision (which is not unusual with concussions).

In the end, what I tell my clients is this: If you have symptoms which have arisen since the auto accident, tell your doctor about them. The reasoning here is that you are entitled to get treated and compensated for all injuries that you sustained in the collision. Failing to inform your doctor about the full extent of your injuries results in no documentation of your complaints in the medical records, and if it’s not documented in the medical records, it doesn’t exist – especially to an insurance adjuster.

If you have been injured, call our office for a free initial consultation at 719-633-6620