Immediately after a car crash, you may feel confused and overwhelmed, especially if you are injured. The initial shock and the rush of adrenaline may trick you into believing that you aren’t injured. When the shock and adrenaline wear off, you start feeling the onset of pain.
While local emergency medical services automatically transport gravely injured victims to the ER, other car wreck victims may be treated and released or told to follow up with their primary care physician for a more complete check-up.
Whether EMS transports you to the hospital right away or you need to seek medical attention on your own, it is important to know what you should do and say when receiving medical treatment after a car crash.
When to Go to the Hospital After a Tennessee or Georgia Car Accident
After a car accident, your injuries may require immediate emergency treatment. If this happens, you likely will not get to take pictures of the crash scene, vehicles and other information that could be valuable in the future for insurance and injury claims. If you can ask a family member or friend to go to the accident scene and take pictures, particularly if there are any skid marks or debris from the crash.
If your injuries are less severe, quickly gather information before seeking medical treatment. Take photos of everything and anything involved in your Tennessee or Georgia car crash, including your injuries, car damage, road conditions, weather conditions, skid marks, and more. Exchange contact information with the other driver *(if the police let you) and the witnesses. Always call the police to make an official report about your accident. Be careful not to admit fault when talking to the police. Don’t apologize for the accident or state that you are “fine”, —as that kind of statement could hurt your chance to recover compensation.
Once you have collected this evidence, go to the hospital as soon as possible, even if, at first, you don’t think you’re hurt. Some severe injuries, like a concussion, herniated disc or shoulder tear involve delayed symptoms but may worsen or even become life threatening if left untreated.
What to Do and Say When You Get to the Hospital
Once at the hospital, give a full account of the accident and your injuries to the nurse or doctor. Don’t just focus on what hurts the most. Tell the nurse or doctor everything that has hurt since the collision.
Even the slightest pain can be a symptom of a more serious problem. If the symptom of an injury worsen much later, but you didn’t mention it to your doctor, the insurance company probably will deny your claim.
Always tell every health provider that you see after a Georgia or Tennessee car accident that you were in the car accident. Describe as best you can what happened to your body during the crash. Always tell your medical provider if your airbags exploded. For example, you may say you hit your knee on the dash or your head slammed against the head rest on impact.
How Can Dennis and King Help Me with my Georgia or Tennessee Car Wreck Case?
If you’ve been hurt in a crash, you should seek legal representation as soon as possible. We have decades of experience investigating Tennessee and Georgia car crashes, navigating insurance claims, getting our clients medical care and if necessary, going to court.
We fight to recover treatment and rehabilitation costs, lost wages and pain and suffering, among other accident-related losses and damages. Plus, you always know you will get the most money through our fair fee guarantee.
