The days and weeks following a car accident can be a confusing and stress-filled time. It is all too easy to put off or wholly overlook the steps necessary to protect your health and preserve your legal rights. Nevertheless, there are certain important steps that everyone should take, even if the accident initially appears to be fairly minor. Failing to do these things in a timely fashion can create significant problems down the road if your injuries turn out to be more serious than you initially thought.
Even though insurance is heavily regulated in Pennsylvania and insurers can be punished for making arbitrary denials of legitimate claims, they will look for any rationale they can to deny your claim. That is why you must start building your case as soon as possible, even if you are not sure you want to pursue legal action:
- See a doctor — Not all injuries reach their full severity immediately. What starts out as a mildly inconvenient pain may grow to a debilitating injury if left unattended. Seeing a doctor for even minor pain can help detect potentially serious problems before they get worse. From a legal perspective, getting treatment early can make it easier to establish the causal connection between your accident and injury.
- Keep track of expenses — If you miss work, have to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses, or incur any other losses because of your injury, it is important to keep track. These records can be invaluable later.
- Get photos — Photos of your vehicle and the accident scene can be important in litigation. Although personal injury lawyers normally do this as part of their investigation, the involved vehicles may have been destroyed or the accident scene may have changed before a lawyer gets involved.
While these steps can ultimately be very beneficial to an eventual legal case, by themselves they are no substitute for the services of an experienced Lancaster County personal injury lawyer who can take initial evidence and turn it into a viable legal claim.
