If you have been injured in a car accident, and it wasn’t your fault, read on. In order to be paid for your damages, you will need to prove your case to an insurance company. Insurance companies are in business to make money. Insurance adjusters are trained in the many ways to deny and devalue personal injury claims. This blog will focus on one common excuse that insurance companies love to throw around, specifically, the Gap In Treatment or “G.I.T.”
In order to prove your injuries, you need medical evidence. The medical evidence needs to show not only the diagnosis of your injuries, but also the duration of your symptoms. Insurance companies abide by the belief that if you are hurt, you will be aggressively pursuing medical treatment. If you delay treatment, the insurance company will use this as an argument to devalue (or deny) your case.
Example #1 – Delayed Initial Treatment:
Fred is involved in a wreck and it wasn’t his fault. His car is wrecked and while he’s at the scene of the accident, his back and neck start to hurt. The police officer asks if Fred would like to be transported to the hospital for evaluation. Fred responds “no, that’s ok, I will be fine.” After that, Fred goes home and goes to bed. He wakes up the next morning and he’s even more sore than he was the day before. Fred takes some over the counter medications that he had in his medicine cabinet and he fires up the heating pad. Fred continues this regimen of self-care for about a week and he doesn’t feel any better. At that time, Fred goes to the emergency room and seeks medical attention. How will the at-fault driver’s insurance respond to this course of treatment?
The insurance company will make several arguments on account of the fact that Fred delayed getting medical treatment for his injuries:
- Fred wasn’t hurt as a result of the collision. Had he been hurt, he would have gone to the emergency room right after the collision.
- Fred wasn’t hurt because an injured person would not wait a week before seeking medical treatment.
- Fred isn’t hurt, he just went to the emergency room a week later because he decided to fake an injury so he can get a settlement.
- Fred probably injured his back at work, working in the yard or picking something up following the collision. Now he wants to blame it on the wreck so that he can get paid. Nice try, but we are not going to pay!
Poor Fred! He tried to “tough it out” and now the insurance company is going to use that against him. So what’s the takeaway from this? DO NOT DELAY MEDICAL ATTENTION AFTER A COLLISION. IF YOU ARE INJURED, GET TREATMENT RIGHT AWAY.
Example #2 – Delayed Follow Up Treatment:
Jill is involved in a bad wreck. It was the other driver’s fault. Jill’s knee and leg slammed into the dash and she is in pain right after the collision. The police officer asks Jill if she would like to be taken to the emergency room and she replies “yes.” Jill is evaluated at the emergency room and she is told that her x-rays look fine, but that she might have torn a muscle around her knee. The emergency room doctor tells Jill to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible.
Jill goes home after leaving the emergency room. She decides that she’s going to “wait and see” before following up with an orthopedic. Jill limps around for about a month, icing her knee in the evenings and trying to stay off her feet as much as possible. After a month, she’s no better, so she finally calls to schedule an appointment with the orthopedic doctor. The orthopedic sets an appointment for three weeks out. Jill attends the appointment and is told that she has a torn ACL and that she needs surgery. How will the at-fault insurance company respond to this course of treatment?
The insurance company will make several arguments to devalue Jill’s case:
- The emergency room doctor told her to follow up with an orthopedic. She didn’t bother to see another doctor for seven weeks after visiting the emergency room. That means that something else must have happened after the collision to injure Jill’s knee. That’s why she didn’t schedule the appointment with the orthopedic right away. We’re not going to pay for that surgery!
- Jill must have had a pre-existing injury to her knee. Otherwise, she would have followed up with the orthopedic doctor much sooner than she did. She delayed making an appointment because she already knew what was wrong with her knee. Now she’s trying to pin her pre-existing condition on the wreck. We’re not going to pay for that surgery!
- Jill’s knee couldn’t have been too bad after the collision, she would have followed up with the orthopedic sooner than she did. She managed to make it seven weeks before she even saw the orthopedic doctor! If she was able to go that long without even following up as she was directed to do, she clearly does not need surgery. This sounds like an elective surgery. We aren’t going to pay!
Poor Jill! She tried to keep her medical bills as low as possible. She wanted to see if her knee would get better on its own. Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Not in the world of insurance adjusters! Jill’s good intentions created multiple arguments for an insurance company to avoid paying for the damages that their driver caused. What’s the takeaway from this? Do not create a significant gap in your medical treatment (G.I.T.) following a collision. Be consistent and follow up without delay. Follow up until you reach maximum medical improvement.
Closing words of wisdom:
When you are injured in a wreck and it’s not your fault, make sure that you get evaluated right away. After that, make sure that you are following up without delay as directed by your doctors. You want the insurance adjuster to value your case based on the nature of your injuries, not the delayed scheduling of your treatment. The insurance company already has plenty of advantages following a collision, you don’t need to give them another one!
If you are injured, call Bradley Law Group. We will be glad to give you a free consultation. We have represented injured people for more than 20 years. We never charge a fee until we get you paid. Let us work to get you the treatment that you need and the settlement that you deserve. We look forward to hearing from you!
****All cases are unique and are evaluated independently. Past results are not a guarantee of future performance. This post does not form an attorney client relationship with the reader nor is it intended as legal advice. State laws are different regarding insurance coverages and their applicability. Bradley Law Group represents people involved in accidents in North Carolina.