Car Wreck. What Now?
/After a car wreck, it can be extremely stressful to know what to do to both get the medical treatment you need and protect your rights and interests legally. Ward Law Firm’s first advice to our auto accident clients is always two part:
Get the medical treatment you need.
Don’t sign anything the insurance company sends you or talk to them until you speak with an attorney.
Often, insurance companies will immediately ask you to sign authorizations or even settlement agreements limiting your rights and recovery, and opening the door for them to access your entire medical history so they can fish around for anything they can use to muddy the water even in what should be a clear cut case. In most cases, they would never have a right to access that information but for your authorization. Don’t sign it without first obtaining competent legal advice from an attorney who knows personal injury law.
They will also often ask you for a recorded statement of your version of the wreck. While this may seem like no big deal, these adjusters and investigators are trained to frame questions in a way that could hurt you in the long run. Get to a competent personal injury lawyer before giving your recorded statement. By getting the medical treatment you need, refusing to sign or speak with the insurance company, and getting to a car wreck attorney who knows the law, you will protect yourself against attempts to minimize your recovery and limit your treatment for injuries related to your wreck.
Often times, you will have injuries that are not immediately apparent. Some won’t show up for days or even a few weeks, as your adrenaline and pain medications wear off and you start feeling the full effect of the wreck on your body. In fact, many times, some of the most serious injuries, called Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), are not apparent to you at all and will only be recognized by those around you who notice changes in your behavior such as short term memory loss, increased irritability, forgetfulness, and changes in emotionality. These types of injuries are regularly missed by the ER docs because their focus is on the immediately apparent physical injuries, and often go undiagnosed completely because no one knows to look for them or realizes the symptoms are a result of the wreck.
At Ward Law Firm, we are trained and know what to look for, and we pay attention to the details that will not only ensure your maximum recovery in your case, but will also ensure your maximum recovery physically and emotionally, getting you back to the version of you that you were before the wreck, or at least as close as can be obtained. If we see signs of a TBI that has not yet been diagnosed, we will make sure you get the medical treatment you need so that your injuries do not go untreated or uncompensated.
Brandi Ward and Debra Hilton, the personal injury team at Ward Law Firm, were both trained by the same well-known personal injury attorney (whom is now retired but with whom they are both still close) and have been part of obtaining some of the largest settlements and verdicts in the State of Missouri. Together, their knowledge and dedication to helping victims of car wrecks across Missouri is a force to be reckoned with and their efforts to protect their clients are relentless.
