Seeking prompt medical attention is one of the best things you can do after an unexpected accident.
Not only does this help to ensure that your injuries are properly diagnosed and treated without delay, but it also generates a medical record that can be invaluable if you decide to pursue compensation through an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
An Austin personal injury attorney can use your medical records to prove your injuries, establish causation, and value your losses.
Medical Records Can Prove That You Got Hurt
You won’t receive compensation for an injury unless you can prove that the injury is real. The insurance company certainly won’t just take your word for it; you’ll need hard evidence to show them that you’re dealing with very real, very painful physical trauma. Your medical records are the best way to achieve this.
Your medical records document everything about your medical care, including:
- Dates and times for trips to the emergency room, along with the assessments, evaluations, diagnostic tests, and treatment you received there
- Hospital admissions
- Surgical procedures
- Provider notes containing preliminary assessments of your injury, symptoms, side effects, potential complications, and treatment regimens
- Diagnostic testing orders and lab results
- Medications administered and prescribed
Getting copies of your medical records can help your personal injury lawyer demonstrate the validity of your claim to the insurance adjuster.
Establish a Causal Link Between an Accident and Your Injuries
It’s not enough to show that you’ve been injured. You’ll also have the burden of proving that an accident caused those injuries. An adjuster might concede that you’ve gotten hurt and that your injuries are real, but deny your claim because you haven’t shown that they were caused by the accident. Your medical records can be used to establish this causal link.
For example, your medical records state that you’ve suffered broken ribs, pulmonary contusions, and a pneumothorax, which contributed to a collapsed lung. The record further indicates that you’ve experienced shortness of breath, internal bleeding in the chest, and cyanosis. All of this information, considered together, can be consistent with blunt force trauma to the chest in a car accident.
If you sought medical attention promptly after your accident, an Austin personal injury lawyer can use your medical records to show that the collision is the only realistic and likely cause of this chest injury.
The medical record becomes much more powerful evidence when introduced with a copy of the accident report. The timestamps on the record and report can be used to corroborate your side of the story and compel the insurance company to approve your claim.
Prove Your Present and Future Economic Losses
After an accident, you can pursue compensation for your objective financial losses, both present and future. An insurance company will only approve damages for costs that are necessary and reasonable.
Medical records are an invaluable resource for proving losses and showing that they’re legitimate. They prove the severity of your injury, show the need for short-term and/or long-term care, and demonstrate that you’re seeking justifiable damages. They can also prove that requests for housing and travel expenses for medical treatment are appropriate.
Medical records can also help you recover compensation for lost wages by showing that time away from work isn’t by choice; it’s by necessity. When your medical records indicate you’ve sustained a debilitating brain injury, damage to your spinal cord, severe burns, or even significant soft tissue injuries, it’s more difficult for the insurance carrier to argue that your lost wages aren’t justifiable.
Working with an experienced injury attorney in Austin ensures these records are properly presented to prove the full financial impact of your crash.
Support Requests for Pain and Suffering and Other Economic Damages
You’re not only entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, long-term disability, and other financial losses, but also for harder-to-value consequences of your accident and injuries. When an injury prevents you from doing things on your own, living independently, or enjoying the things you once loved, the at-fault party (or their insurance company) should have to compensate for that, too.
You can introduce copies of your medical records to demonstrate the severity of your injuries and show that the way you’ve valued your non-economic losses is more than appropriate.
Prove You’ve Stuck With Your Treatment Plan
The insurance company will search for a reason to deny your claim or cut your damages short. Often, adjusters monitor your treatment and look for missed appointments or other deviations from your plan of care. If you’re consistent, your medical records will document your compliance and commitment, while emphasizing the severity of your injury and need for care.
An experienced injury lawyer can make sure these records are organized to effectively counter any allegations that you failed to mitigate your damages.
Getting Copies of Your Medical Records After an Accident in Texas
Medical records can help you prove your damages and recover substantial compensation after an accident. Fortunately, in Texas, you’re lawfully entitled to copies of those records. For many, medical records can be available in online portals.
If this isn’t an option for you, or if you need records directly from a healthcare provider, you can request them. Medical facilities have up to 15 days to respond to requests for records.
It’s important to keep track of all of your doctor’s visits, lab visits, runs to the pharmacy, and trips to the hospital. You’ll want to put together a list of everyone you’ve seen so that you can submit record requests to ensure you have all of the evidence you need to support your claim.
Once you have a complete list, you should:
- Contact the medical records department for each provider and complete a records release authorization, and
- Submit a written request for records along with payment required by the provider.
In Texas, healthcare providers can charge up to $25 for the first 20 pages for a paper copy of your medical record, plus $.50 for every additional page. Imaging studies and affidavits can also be requested for additional fees. You can seek reimbursement for these fees in your personal injury lawsuit. After all, you wouldn’t be requesting your medical records if you hadn’t gotten hurt in an avoidable accident.
Once you receive your medical records, you can check them for accuracy and determine if anything is missing, or consult a trusted personal injury attorney who can review them for completeness on your behalf.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Manage Your Medical Records Moving Forward
These aren’t steps you have to take on your own. An experienced Austin personal injury attorney at Dow Law Firm can help by requesting medical records on your behalf. In fact, our team can handle all matters of evidence related to your accident while you take the time you need to focus on getting better.
We offer free consultations, so contact our personal injury lawyers in Austin or one of our other service areas at (512) 240-9951 for help today.