Here Is What to Do if Your Doctor Tells You You Only Have a Sprain and It Will Go Away in Two Weeks After a Car Accident
What to Do If a Doctor Tells You Your Accident Injuries Will Go Away
When you’ve been injured in an automobile accident, one of the first things you do is go to a doctor. If you have an injured ankle, for instance, you want to receive medical treatment. Long before you pursue any legal recourse as a victim, you first need to focus on your health. There are instances where your injuries are not serious. A sprained ankle, for instance, is something that heals in a few weeks. The doctor may tell you that your injury will naturally go away. That’s great news, right? No long‑term injury and no physical therapy needed, so you may count this as a win. However, it’s important that your journey for compensation does not end there.Just because you suffer an injury that will heal up over time in no way means you are not entitled to compensation. Being told it’s just a minor injury should not deter you from an actionable course. Besides, getting lucky with low‑grade physical injuries doesn’t mean you still aren’t damaged from the accident. Many people suffer minor physical injuries that heal, only to find mental injuries last much longer. Accident victims can develop a range of mental health issues, including PTSD, anxiety, and certain fears and phobias. A normal physician is not necessarily looking for these injuries. He or she is only looking at your physical body.
We recommend taking some steps here to help strengthen your future case. To get what you are truly entitled to is a long process. Listen to the doctor about your physical injury. Though when it comes to compensation, take these steps to prepare for the future.
1. Document Your Symptoms Immediately
The first thing you should do after your doctor’s visit is document every single thing you feel. Document your physical pain, any mental issues, and how your daily life is going. Document how the crash affected you, and be very open and honest about it. You want to create a clear record of your symptoms and how you have been affected by the accident. When this ends up going through legal proceedings, your documentation will be very valuable. It will be something your lawyer uses to show the extent of your condition. You’re telling a valuable story here. It’s not just a minor physical injury; it’s something that has hampered your quality of life.This is especially important if your condition worsens. You could have physical issues that the doctor did not catch. Neck or back pain could pop up. The ankle could get much worse. Documentation is the key.
- Write down every symptom you experience, even if it seems small.
- Record when the pain increases, decreases, or changes in any way.
- Note how your injuries affect your daily activities, work, and sleep.
- Be entirely honest about everything, and always date your material.
2. Request Copies of Your Medical Records
There are all sorts of different personal injuries you can suffer as a result of an accident. However, they all share one thing in common: the responsible party’s insurance wants proof that the injuries are real. In personal injury law, having proof of your injuries is expected.As soon as your appointment ends with a doctor, request your medical records. These records technically belong to you, so the hospital staff will make you a copy. Also, ask for personal notes, imaging results, and other materials from the doctor. You should let your doctor know what your ultimate goal is. If they know you plan to pursue legal action, they will know precisely what you need for your case. Your medical records will describe your injuries, your symptoms, and your treatment recommendations. These records help an attorney evaluate your case for your financial restitution.
Medical records are also going to give more thorough information than you likely received from your doctor. These reports contain medical terminology and names of diagnoses. All of this information is vital for helping you win a personal injury case.
3. Seek a Second Medical Opinion
Seeing a doctor might not seem like the most fiscally responsible choice. Even if you have decent insurance, deductibles are tough to deal with. Plus, you might have to go out of network and pay a larger expense. However, if you plan to seek a personal injury attorney and financially settle, a second opinion is a good idea. In many cases, another doctor takes a much closer look. They may find something different. This isn’t because the first doctor was lax in his or her job. It’s because a second opinion is cause for a much deeper probe. Another doctor may find ligament damage or inflammation that wasn’t initially spotted. This is a good thing for your case overall, even if it stings financially.Personal injury cases can take a long time to settle. Having stronger evidence can expedite the process some. When a second doctor disagrees and finds a more severe injury, it demonstrates that you are suffering more. It also shows that you’re injured to the point of going to multiple physicians to seek assistance. The responsible party’s insurance cannot simply ignore these factors.
4. Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer
Now that your injury has been properly documented, and you have a second opinion, it’s time to seek out a personal injury lawyer. This is where Silverthorne Attorneys can step in to help. We have experienced lawyers who know all the ins and outs of personal injury cases. Even if your physical injury is a minor thing like a sprained ankle, you may still be entitled to a large settlement. Your initial injury, medical expenses, employment compensation, etc.; it all adds up. With the evidence you present your attorney, a strong case can be built to bolster your odds.Insurance companies know when their driver is responsible. They never tend to totally ignore a victim. What they’ll do is send an insurance investigator directly to you, offering the bare minimum. If your medical bills total $5,000, then they may initially offer a portion of that. This low‑balling practice seems unethical, but it’s a sign that you can get much more. They wouldn’t offer a penny unless they knew they were liable. Obtaining a qualified attorney can help you get every penny you’re entitled to.
5. Keep a Daily Pain and Activity Journal
After you have a good lawyer on your team, it’s time to start planning for your entire claim in the long term. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to demonstrate that you are going through an injury and that your claim is serious. Just remember that you need to be open and honest in a journal. It’s one thing to say that you’re in excruciating pain and cannot move. It’s another thing entirely when medical records do not support this. So being honest is the way to go here. Create entries about any mental struggles you’re having or how your pain is evolving.How your life has been affected is usually the deciding factor of how much they decide to pay you. Journaling differs from documentation for one main reason. You’re no longer documenting your specific injury; you’re writing entries about your life and how the situation is affecting you.
- Describe your pain level each day and note any changes.
- Record activities you could not perform or had difficulty completing.
- Include notes about sleep problems, headaches, or mobility issues.
- Speak about any difficulties with interpersonal relationships, travel, or work.
Overall, your journal here is your timeline of recovery and how your life is lived post‑accident.
6. Follow All Medical Instructions
Circling back to your initial doctor’s assessment, it’s important that you follow their instructions. The key issue here is that you do not want to be held personally liable for a worsening injury. For instance, if your hypothetical sprained ankle gets worse, the insurance company wants to know why. Were there underlying problems that were missed because the injury was more severe? Or did you ignore the doctor’s recommendations and start walking again immediately? You can see how the latter makes you responsible for the injury in their eyes. You do not want to present your lawyer with a tougher legal battle.When you follow a doctor’s instructions, you are protecting your legal claim. Some people think that a physical injury has to be severe and long‑term to receive financial compensation. This is not true at all. The fact that you were injured at all, through no fault of your own, is how you will receive compensation. The same is true for a workplace accident that was the fault of employer negligence. You do not need to be on crutches or in a wheelchair to be considered the victim of an accident. So make sure that you attend all proper appointments, heed the doctor’s advice, and take any prescribed medications.
7. Avoid Gaps in Treatment
If your injury requires physical therapy appointments or any scheduled treatments at all, you have to show up and go through the motions. Insurance companies are looking for any reason they can find to not pay out. It’s how they stay so profitable. So if you’re skipping treatment dates, they’ll use these gaps to argue that your injuries were not serious. All the documenting and journaling in the world will not help if treatment gaps are noticed. The assumption will flatly be that your injuries must not have been severe enough to warrant a large payout.If something comes up that prevents you from attending a treatment appointment, you need to document it with evidence. For instance, if you’re called into work, you have to show that particular schedule. If you’re having traveling issues, you will need evidence. The best thing you can do is reschedule. This shows that treatment is necessary, and you just couldn’t make an appointment.
8. Request Additional Diagnostic Testing
For people whose pain continues, you should consider requesting additional testing. You can receive MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasounds to find deeper issues. A sprained ankle is often a judgment call based on symptoms presented at the time. It could be the case that you have some serious tendon or joint damage hiding in there. Over time, these issues only get worse unless treated. So do not be shy about requesting additional testing.If there is a more severe injury, then having copies of these records is practically a slam dunk for your lawyer. You’re not only arguing about pain and suffering through personal testimony; you’re demonstrating it with medical science. This is exactly the type of evidence you need to fast‑track your case.
9. Save All Accident‑Related Expenses
You definitely need to keep track of every one of your medical bills. From your main hospital bill to the money you spent on some muscle cream at CVS, it’s all relevant here. You’re dealing with an injury and trying to heal. This injury was not your fault but rather the result of someone else’s negligence. Your lawyer will help ensure that every single expense is taken care of with your settlement. It helps your lawyer calculate a number for total damages.Just keep track of everything as you go.
- Save receipts for medications, medical devices, and treatment costs.
- Track mileage for medical appointments and therapy sessions.
- Keep invoices for childcare, household help, or other services you needed due to your injuries.
10. Avoid Posting About the Accident on Social Media
One thing you need to know is that insurance companies pay a small fortune to have you tracked. Investigators are checking up on you to ensure that you’re actually injured and aren’t just faking it. They’ll use any piece of information they can get their hands on to discredit your claims. This includes any social media posts you make. Insurance companies often monitor your accounts. They are famous for spinning, twisting, and misinterpreting what you say in order to use it against you. For instance, a comment weeks after the accident that says “I’m feeling better today” can be used to show you’re healed.You have to protect your claim. This means being silent about what you’re going through in public. Friends and family are fine, but telling the world details about your accident is not a good idea. It’s better to stay off of social media altogether during this process. You’re not on trial, but the insurance companies treat you like you are.
11. Gather Witness Statements and Accident Evidence
These steps are not all necessarily in order. You should work to gather witness statements and evidence as soon as you’re physically able. The best way to do this is to reach out through the police officers who reported the incident. Auto accidents always have ample filings that take place. Your lawyer can assist you in collecting names of witnesses. They might have cell phone photos or videos of the accident. Their testimony can go a long way to demonstrating that you were a victim of the accident. It’s not mandatory, but it is something that will strengthen your case.Witness statements are especially valuable when liability is disputed. The responsible party may have a lawyer and is going after your insurance, claiming you were at fault. Witnesses can certainly help clear these sorts of matters up. The more information you have on your side, the better things will go for you. Big insurance companies are worth billions of dollars. The way they keep this money is by spending some to ensure you get none, or at least very little. At Silverthorne Attorneys, we want to empower you with information about the legal procedure and your options.
Conclusion
When a doctor tells you that your injuries will heal on their own in a few weeks, it can be bittersweet. You’re happy that the pain, suffering, and immobility will not be permanent. Though you’re also a little sour because you feel as if you no longer have a claim. Just remember that nothing can be further from the truth. Follow the steps listed above, and hire a quality lawyer, and you can build a great case. You do not need to be seriously injured to receive due compensation as a victim of an accident. You just need evidence and records on your side.Most injuries from car accidents are far more complex than they appear. Even minor injuries can lead to serious mental struggles or huge expenses. An injury that’s technically healed can still also be painful. Symptoms evolve in many different ways. The best thing you can do is document your journey and seek the aid of a professional personal injury lawyer to help you fight for what you’re owed.