Life doesn’t come with a “let me catch my breath” moment when you get hurt.
You go from having a normal life one day to a pile of hospital bills, lost wages from work, and your body suddenly fighting you on every task. All while a hidden deadline for your injury claim filing keeps ticking away.
The problem is…
Trying to figure out what to do next is overwhelming. Doctor appointments pile up. Insurance companies suddenly want to chat. And the emotional stress? Nobody seems to address that until WAY later.
The reality is having the proper support after injury — and when you need it most — can drastically change your life after an accident.
Here’s what’s covered:
- Why Medical Support is step 1
- Why Legal Support matters
- The emotional recovery no one addresses
- Bringing all three pillars together
Why Medical Support is step 1
Here’s one thing doctors and injury attorneys will both tell you 100%:
See a doctor ASAP.
Seriously. Not in a few days. Not after you talk to the insurance company. As Soon. As. Possible.
Your medical support should be your absolute number one priority after an accident for a few reasons:
Your medical records prove…
- Injury actually occurred
- Extent of your physical injuries
- Injury’s impact on your normal life & ability to work
Insurance companies love to argue that your injury must not be that bad if you waited to seek medical care. It’s their absolute favourite tool for reducing or denying legitimate injury claims.
Good medical records equal a solid foundation for your injury claim filing. Period.
Bonus tip: Make sure you keep every follow-up appointment with your doctor. Have them document any changes to your injuries and always follow their treatment plans. Any gaps in treatment = ammunition for insurance companies to weasel out of a claim.
In addition to just seeing your doctor ASAP — you should also pick medical providers who document everything.
Hospital records can vary wildly depending on how thorough they are with their notes. Your attending physician will have much stronger documentation than “I went to the ER and they took X amount of X-rays.”
Why Legal Support matters
Here’s a fact a lot of people don’t know…
In fact, nearly 400,000 personal injury claims are filed each year in the United States — that’s roughly 830 claims every day. Crazy, right?
So why do so many people insist on navigating the injury claim filing process alone?
Don’t be that person.
Legal support can change everything about your experience after injury. Injuries are hard enough. Dealing with insurance companies makes it even harder — they’re not looking out for your best interest. They have teams of full-time employees whose sole job is to settle your claim for the least amount of money possible.
In fact…
Statistics show that injury victims who use a lawyer end up with three times the amount of their settlement payout vs. those who represent themselves. And while 91% of claimants with legal representation receive some kind of payout from insurance companies — only 51% of those who go it alone are awarded a settlement.
Hiring an experienced Minneapolis injury lawyer changes the game completely. Here’s what they’ll do for you:
- Handle all communication with insurance companies
- Collect & organize any evidence needed to support your claim
- File all required documents before deadlines pass
- Negotiates your injury claim filing for the highest possible settlement amount
It also doesn’t hurt that every injury claim filing has what’s called a ‘statute of limitations.’ Basically a deadline the injury occurred by. If you miss it, you lose your ability to pursue compensation. Ever.
Having a competent legal team on your side from day one is everything.
The emotional recovery no one addresses
Speaking of things nobody seems to think about after injury…
When’s the last time you heard someone say, “Oh man, my illness really messed with my mental health.”
They probably never say it because no one talks about how common emotional distress is after injury.
Research indicated that 25% of injured people suffered from clinically significant distress just THREE months post-injury. And for a lot of those patients, their distress didn’t subside by the 1-year mark.
Trauma impacts your mental health just as much as your physical.
Here are some examples of mental health injuries you may NOT have considered:
- Fear of returning to work
- Not sleeping well at night due to stress/injury-related anxiety
- Feeling like you’ve lost a part of your identity due to physical limitations
- Relationships suffering from your drastic lifestyle changes
It’s far too common. And the harder people try to push through physical recovery, the more damaging mental distress can be.
Clinical research goes hand in hand with this:
Psychological distress has been directly linked to higher rates of pain, longer recovery times, and lower overall quality of life amongst injured patients.
Your emotional support should include…
- Access to mental health professionals who can help
- Family members & friends that check-in on you
- Medical staff that addresses mental health as part of your recovery
- Legal representation that takes care of the heavy lifting/details
Bringing all three pillars together
If you’re like most people you started this article looking for the secret to a “successful recovery.”
Well, there isn’t one.
Your physical, legal and emotional support should be working in tandem to help you recover after an accident. All 3 should start as soon as possible.
Again, here’s the order you want to do things:
- See a doctor immediately following your accident
- Contact an attorney before you talk to insurance companies
- Seek help for mental health injuries along the way
- Follow doctors orders for physical recovery
- Have your attorney fight for you while you focus on physical & mental recovery
Skimping on any one of these puts you at risk of losing money down the road. Or not maximizing your injury claim payout.
Think of your recovery process like a three-legged stool. Take away one leg, and it’s no longer fit for purpose.
Wrap-Up
Injuries are never convenient. And the process of injury claim filing shouldn’t add unnecessary stress to your life.
Make sure you have a strong foundation with each of your “three pillars” of support.
Medical support will build your injury case from the ground up. Having legal support will maximize your injury claim payout, and emotional support will keep you level headed during what’s obviously a stressful time.
Don’t do recovery alone. You don’t have to. Don’t wait until it’s too late to get the help you need. Recovering from an injury is hard enough — you deserve support on every front.