Why Refusing Medical Treatment at the Scene of a Crash Might Affect Your Injury Claim

There are many decisions personal injury victims make that they do not realize could hurt their injury claims for compensation. Once such decision is refusing medical care, either at the scene of a car crash or later during the treatment process. Refusing to see a doctor or receive medical treatment could be dangerous for your health and have a negative impact on your claim. Technically you can refuse medical treatment at a crash scene in Maryland, but it is strongly advised against it as doing so could significantly weaken your case if you later decide to pursue a personal injury claim related to the car accident; refusing medical care may make it difficult to prove the extent of your injuries and link them directly to the car crash.

Sometimes car accident victims may refuse medical treatment at the scene because they do not feel much pain or think that their injuries are serious. Refusing medical treatment could make it easier for the insurance company to offer you less compensation or to deny your claim. Ignoring treatment parameters will hinder you from recovering full compensation for your damages. Simply waiting does not fix injuries. The insurance company will claim if you do not need medical care then your injuries are not that bad. They could also say you are not taking appropriate steps to mitigate your damages.

At the Law Offices of Larry B. Litt, we advise all our clients to seek medical care as soon as possible after a car accident to help protect their health, recovery, and potential legal claim. If you have been injured in a crash due to negligence, learn more about how our attorneys may be able to help you during this difficult and trying time. We offer an initial consultation at no cost, risk, or obligation to you. If you or a loved one has a viable claim, we charge zero upfront fees to hire our law firm. We only get paid for our services if we help you obtain compensation.

Below, we detail the problems with refusing medical treatment when seeking compensation after a car collision. It is important to note there are legitimate reasons to refuse medical treatment, and you may still be able to seek compensation if you did not get treatment at the accident scene.

Why Do People Refuse Medical Treatment at an Accident Scene?

There are several reasons why a car wreck victim may refuse medical treatment at an accident scene. One of the most common reasons is that the car crash victim may not believe he or she was seriously injured and that whatever harm they suffered will heal on its own without medical care. They may think the auto accident was not that big of a deal because they were able to get out of the car and their vehicle did not sustain catastrophic damage. After an accident, however, there is no telling how much damage even a minor bump may have caused you. The only way to know for sure is if you get evaluated by a medical professional.

Getting medical treatment at the accident scene could save your life, especially if you have a serious internal injury. For example, car wreck victims may not know if they have a concussion or other head injury. Many people also believe you must lose consciousness if you sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, that is a common myth that could lead to serious consequences if left untreated. It is important to understand an auto accident can release adrenaline, and this could mask your symptoms or at least make it feel like they are not that bad. Your symptoms may worsen in the hours and days after the car crash.

When a trained medial professional arrives at the scene, he or she can do an initial evaluation to determine whether your injuries may require further evaluation at a nearby hospital. This leads to another common reason accident victims may refuse medical care at the scene of a collision. They may believe their insurance will not cover the cost of an ambulance ride. However, this is also typically not the case. You should not refuse medical treatment simply because you are concerned about the cost of riding in an ambulance. Waiting to seek medical care is dangerous for your health because your injuries could get much worse. It may also contribute to you having long-term medical problems or at least a much longer recovery period.

Although you are seeking compensation, your top priority should be your health, particularly your ongoing health.

The Problem with Refusing Medical Treatment at the Scene of an Accident

If you refuse medical treatment at the scene of an accident, the insurance company is surely going to try and use it against you. They will claim you did not get hurt in the car collision – if you did get hurt, why would you refuse medical care? Refusing treatment will make it harder to prove causation. In other words, the insurance company may try to argue that your injuries could have been caused by something else and that you are trying to take advantage of the situation to get money.

This argument could harm your credibility, especially if your case goes to court and you must prove your claim to a jury. Your refusal of immediate medical attention may strengthen the insurance company’s argument that you are not hurt.

It is important to understand that you can still file a personal injury claim if you refused medical treatment at the crash scene. The insurance company will argue about causation of later treatment to the crash. The sooner you seek medical care after the collision the less likely this argument will work. If you are in pain, you can still go to Urgent Care, the Emergency Room, or your family primary care doctor. The main goal is to get better and not allow the injuries to get worse, but the secondary effect is to also better document the injury to the car crash.

You Will Not Have Economic Damages to Justify a Claim

If you do not seek out medical treatment for an injury, you will not have any damages (medical bills) to justify filing a personal injury claim for compensation.

Remember that to recover compensation you must prove negligence, and one of the most important elements of negligence is tat you suffered damages as a direct result of another person’s actions. If you do not get an evaluation from a medical doctor after an injury sustained in a car accident, it would be difficult to prove you suffered economic damages that you should be compensated for by the insurance company.

Therefore, the insurance company could have reason to deny your personal injury claim for compensation. If you file a lawsuit, your case could be dismissed before it ever reaches the discovery process.

Your Pain and Suffering Could Be Denied Since You Refused Medical Treatment at the Collision Scene

Non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are also an important part of an injury case. However, a person who refuses to receive the necessary medical care to ease his or her pain and suffering could be denied compensation due to failure to mitigate his or her damages.

The insurance company could argue that you are refusing medical treatment to exacerbate your pain and suffering to recover more compensation than what your claim is truly worth. Failure to mitigate damages is an affirmative defense, so you could be barred from recovering compensation and the at-fault party could be released from liability.

If you or a loved one was injured in an auto crash caused by someone else’s negligence but refused medical treatment at the scene of the collision, you should seek legal help right away. You could greatly benefit from the assistance of a licensed attorney. Even if the insurance company is telling you that you cannot because of your refusal of medical care, you may still be able to recover full compensation. Unlike an attorney, the insurance company is not looking out for your best interests. Their main objective is to save themselves money, which means paying out as little as possible in claims.

Let our knowledgeable attorneys at the Law Offices of Larry B. Litt deal with the insurance companies on your behalf. Our legal team is ready to help you pursue the compensation you need with no upfront costs. We have been helping motor vehicle accident victims for decades and we have obtained hundreds of millions on behalf of our clients. You do not pay us a penny until we successfully recover compensation for you. Call us anytime 24/7/365 at 443-844-1528.