Licensed in Missouri and Kansas

Seeing a Doctor for Your Injuries? Keep These 3 Things in Mind

When you are hurt because of someone else’s negligence and are making a claim for money compensation, you bear the burden to show the nature and extent of your injuries. The most common way we show this is with your medical records. Medical records are a big part of any personal injury case and they can greatly affect the value. Because of this, it is important to keep a few things in mind about your medical records.

1. Make sure you tell your doctor about all of the problems you are experiencing, no matter how small or insignificant they are.

Lawyers and insurance adjusters will be pouring over your medical records. If you claim an injury, but there’s no mention of it in your medical records, you are going to have a hard time getting money compensation for it. Even if your seeing a specialist for a specific part of your body, you should tell her or him about the injuries from all parts of your body.

2. Get a copy of your records after each visit to make sure they are correct.

Medical records are riddled with mistakes. Whether a nurse or doctor forgot to write something down or whether they wrote it down incorrectly, it is inevitable that there something wrong in them. Getting your records early and often will give you the chance to ask for a correction before anyone else sees them.

3. Do not, under any circumstance, tell your doctor that you have a personal injury case, a lawyer, or a lawsuit.

Some doctors or nurses will write that information in your medical records. Then, when trying to prove your injuries with those records, the insurance company or their lawyers will see that note about your lawsuit in the records. They will use that against you. They will paint you as an opportunist or your medical treatment as an unnecessary bluff orchestrated by your lawyers. This will hurt your case.

If you have questions about your medical records in your personal injury case, please feel free to contact our firm at 816-867-8611. We handle personal injury cases in Missouri and Kansas and will be glad to answer your questions.

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