Why You Should Go to the ER After An Accident - Even If You Feel Fine

On average there were over six million car accidents in the United States each year. Between two and three million people are injured. Additionally, over 40,000 injuries are fatal, on average, putting auto accident at number five in causes of death in the United States. So, it's pretty important that people know what to do - and not to do - if involved in a car crash. Today, many people know what to do after an incident, like calling the police, staying inside the car unless that would be more dangerous than getting out, and not admitting fault. Some insurance companies even print the steps to take on the back of their proof of insurance cards. But there is one recommendation that is often passed over.

GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!

You've been in an accident. Aside from a couple of nicks and nasty scare, you feel fine. Well, to start with, the death of Natasha Richardson should be a strong caution: she claimed to feel fine, despite a very serious head injury. And even if you don't have an injury that serious, adrenaline coursing through your body can mask a host of lesser maladies like pulled muscles, whiplash, or a concussion. Additionally, should lawyers and lawsuits become involved later, your having NOT visited an emergency room could cost you big time! Imagine this: You find out a week later that your collision resulted in whiplash and a pinched nerve that hadn't yet manifested. Combined it required medical treatment and physical therapy, and now you want their insurance company to cover the costs. How would you like to prove to a judge or jury that your condition was caused by the crash rather than some hypothetical accident at home?

Three Reasons to Go

A trip to the emergency room afterwards is the better part of wisdom, for those two reasons: Your health & safety, and for your own legal protection. So, seek medical attention as soon as possible. If you are not taken from the scene by ambulance, make sure that you go to an emergency room or to a physician for an evaluation immediately. If yours is unavailable, go to a medi-clinic. The three primary reasons are worth considering:

1. To protect yourself physically Don't be surprised if you feel fine immediately after the collision. Adrenaline is a hormone that the human body produces to give us time to escape with our lives. The sense of pain is dramatically reduced, even eliminated for a time. Like Novocaine masking the pain, it doesn't mean there is no injury, and as the adrenaline wears off, the symptoms emerge. This isn't about taking someone else's insurance company for a ride. It is about understanding the effects of adrenaline and anticipating that you are likely one of the millions injured without knowing it.
2. To protect yourself legally In the minds of most potential jurors, injured parties seek help. So, the opposing insurance company's legal team will argue that since you didn't go to the doctor or emergency room, you were fine until it occurred to you that they might be ripe for the picking. In a society where so many sue in hopes of a big cash windfall, such a scenario has become all too believable in the mind of the average person. If you do not seek medical attention, the insurance company will use that against you to claim that you were not injured by the accident. Even if you have proof at the time of trial. So, be certain when you arrive at the emergency room or when you see a physician to tell the physicians and nurses that you have been involved in an auto accident and describe anything that you are feeling that you think is unusual no matter how minor you think it is. Doctors may recognize your complaints as a symptom of a more serious problem. Be sure also to let physicians and nurses know of any older injuries that you might have that may have been aggravated by the trauma of the incident.
3. To protect yourself financially If as outlined above, you didn't go to the emergency room or seek a doctor's care after the collision, and the jury or judge aren't persuaded that your injuries were inflicted by the incident, you could be held responsible financially for your health expenses. It might not seem fair. And it might seem a waste of time or unnecessary expense. But the amount you spend immediately after the incident could mean the difference between having your major medical paid for, and possible bankruptcy due to bills you can't afford to pay.