Right after an accident, go to the hospital for immediate care. Don’t stress too much about choosing the right doctor for your ongoing care, and let our lawyers help figure out which specialists in your area can treat your injuries and testify about them.
Emergency room doctors may refer you to the best specialists for your injury, like a neurologist for a brain injury or a physical therapist for a back injury. The doctors who manage your treatment plan and recovery should be ready to send us copies of medical records and potentially testify during a lawsuit. Doctors are expert witnesses, making their testimony valuable to the jury.
Call our Arkansas personal injury lawyers for a free case evaluation at (479) 316-0438.
How Do You Choose the Right Doctor for a Personal Injury Case?
Choosing the right doctor to oversee your treatment and recovery after someone injures you can feel intimidating. Asking the right questions, seeking the right specialists for your injuries, and being honest with medical professionals are important throughout your physical recovery.
Immediately After an Injury
Immediately after an injury, you shouldn’t be concerned with the specific doctor you see. Instead, you should go to the emergency room if your injuries are severe or painful. You may even call paramedics so you can go to the hospital in an ambulance.
If your injuries are not as severe, you may go to an urgent care facility and see one of the doctors there. This initiates records for your injuries, which our personal injury lawyers will use for a lawsuit.
Tell us about all the places you sought initial treatment for your injury, even if you have continued your treatment plan elsewhere.
For Ongoing Medical Care
Emergency room doctors or your primary care physician may refer you to specialists who can provide the best ongoing care. Take referrals seriously and see the appropriate specialists. For example, neurologists can treat head and spinal cord injuries, while a bad compound fracture may require an orthopedic surgeon.
The doctors who create and oversee your ongoing treatment plan should listen to you, be honest about the severity of your injuries and potential for physical recovery, and answer any questions you have.
Having experience treating personal injury victims and even giving testimony in court are also great attributes in a doctor after an accident due to negligence.
Most likely, your primary care physician can’t treat serious injuries, and you should not rely on them for the bulk of your medical care. You can bring your primary care physician up to speed on the matter, however.
What if You Need Help Choosing the Right Doctor for a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Picking the right doctor can feel overwhelming for personal injury victims, especially if they’ve never filed a lawsuit before and have had to select a doctor so intentionally. For guidance on this matter and all others related to personal injury cases, turn to our lawyers for help.
We can explain which medical specialists have the expertise necessary to oversee your treatment, and help you locate such physicians in your area. We can also tell you some of the best questions to ask the doctor who will handle your medical care moving forward, like how their office communicates with patients and whether or not they have personal injury experience themselves.
What Evidence Can You Get from Your Doctor for an Arkansas Personal Injury Case?
Your doctors can provide us with crucial evidence for your personal injury lawsuit in Arkansas. Avoid missing appointments with your doctor, and reschedule visits as soon as possible if you have to cancel.
Medical Records
Medical records tell the jury tons of information about your injuries. Records may contain MRIs, X-rays, surgical reports, treatment plans, medications, hospital notes, and more. Tell us which hospitals and specialists have treated your injuries. With your permission, we can obtain medical records from providers.
While we can get and organize medical records on your behalf, you may inform your doctors that you are filing a compensation claim and will need fast access to any pertinent records.
Expert Statements
Doctors can also give testimony that sways the jury. The right doctor should be a good expert witness on the stand and be able to explain the ins and outs of your injury. Our lawyers can ask doctors to explain what X-rays, MRIs, and other tests prove, as well as when they anticipate you will have fully recovered.
If you are permanently injured, physicians can attest to that as well. Expert witness testimony confirming you will never return to the same earning level because of an injury helps you get paid for future lost wages, as well as missed income to date. Physicians can also testify about any additional treatments, surgeries, or physical therapy sessions you will need to continue healing. This helps us estimate and prove future medical damages as well.
How Soon Should You Choose a Doctor for a Personal Injury Case?
Don’t wait to find a doctor who can handle your medical care after an accident due to negligence. Waiting too long between an accident and when you seek initial or ongoing medical care might jeopardize your compensation claim.
Delaying finding a doctor means delaying documenting your injuries. Your injuries might worsen between the accident’s date and your first visit with a specialist if you wait too long, and the defendant might refuse to cover the additional damages you incurred from waiting.
Prioritizing your physical health is one of the best things you can do for your personal injury lawsuit in Arkansas, in addition to involving our lawyers in your case as soon as possible.
Reach Out for Help with Your Arkansas Injury Lawsuit
Call our Bentonville, AR personal injury lawyers for a free case assessment at (479) 316-0438.