Back Injury After An Accident? Here's What To Do Next

Back injuries are extremely common in accidents and can have significant negative impacts on your life for a long time to come. Getting medical attention is the most important thing that you can do in order to set yourself up for a full recovery, but even so, there are a lot of additional steps that you will want to take in order to make sure that you get the financial compensation that you need in order to move forward from this injury.

If your back was injured in an accident that someone else caused, then you may be able to seek compensation in the form of a personal injury lawsuit or settlement, but this is most effectively done with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney. Lee, Gober & Reyna, PLLC offers a free initial consultation for victims of accidents who would like to learn more about whether or not they have a right to file a personal injury claim, as well as to learn more about how a law firm can help throughout an insurance claim.

Take a look below to learn about some important steps to take after a back injury, but keep in mind that the most important step you can take other than getting medical help is to partner with a lawyer as quickly as possible.

See Your Doctor Immediately

Seeing a doctor is extremely important for a variety of reasons, most importantly to ensure that you get the medical attention and care that you need in order to facilitate a strong recovery. However, the additional benefit to seeing a doctor is that you establish an official medical record that will corroborate your injury claims to the insurance company or courts. If you do not have credible proof of your injuries, the insurance company or defendant will aggressively push back on compensating you for them.

Contact a Lawyer

Before you even initiate a claim with an insurance company, you will benefit from the support of an attorney. As soon as you file a claim, the insurance company will assign an adjuster to your case who will examine every aspect of your injury in order to identify how to limit their final payment as much as possible. During this time, the insurance company will record every statement that you make to them and will attempt to use even the most innocuous of statements as justification for limiting your settlement.

Do Not Sign ANYTHING Without Legal Representation

If you accept a settlement offer from the insurance company, it will come with a release that they will try to compel you to sign that will waive your rights to any future compensation. If you have negotiated with the insurance company and are satisfied with the offer that you have negotiated (which take aggressive, ongoing work), then this waiver might be worth the money; however, your initial offer will be nowhere near what you actually deserve.

Keep Records of Everything

You will certainly be overwhelmed as this process moves forward, and the only way to make sure that you do not miss any details or forget about something important is to keep meticulous records throughout the entire process. When you are working with an attorney, they will be able to act as your record keeper so that you can focus on recovery and your own personal life, but if you are working on your own you will need to keep records of every phone call, time stamps, dates, facts, and figures in order to keep a full picture of the situation throughout.