Most people believe that the hard work of a car accident is done once the cars are towed and people walk away. Yet in reality, that’s when it all begins. It all becomes one giant scramble filled with medical appointments, insurance calls, paperwork deadlines and legal decisions that can mean the difference between receiving the right amount of compensation and having one’s costs absorbed that should’ve been covered by someone else.
Knowing what to expect makes it a bit less overwhelming. This is what actually happens in those crucial early weeks following a car accident.
The Unexpected Medical Gauntlet
The first week usually revolves around medical care, but more than anyone expects. Even when injuries are minimal at the time of the accident, in those first days to weeks after impact, things get worse, or new symptoms appear. Whiplash isn’t felt immediately. A bruised rib doesn’t rear its head until four days later. Concussion symptoms sometimes emerge 24 to 48 hours down the line.
Thus, when people first go to the ER, it’s only the start. The first week includes follow up appointments with GPs, specialists, physiotherapists and potentially psychologists. These appointments serve two purposes: treatment and documentation. And that documentation is more important than anyone realizes at the time.
Here’s why, insurance companies will question the legitimacy of the accident claim if treatment isn’t received in a timely manner. Miss an appointment and insurance companies will argue that injuries weren’t as serious as claimed. Wait a few days to see a doctor for symptoms that emerge and insurance will claim it’s irrelevant to the accident. Documentation must be impeccable from the start and this adds pressure to otherwise vulnerable injury victims attempting to recover.
When Insurance Calls Start
It’s not uncommon for insurance calls to start within a day or two after the accident. Sometimes it’s an individual’s own insurance company; other times, it’s the other driver’s insurance carrier. These preliminary conversations feel casual and sympathetic, as though they’re there to help, but they’re anything but.
Insurance adjusters will be tasked with procuring recorded statements about how the accident occurred and how injuries emerged. They’ll sound like they care when they ask what’s wrong but really want to downplay a victim’s condition. They might even offer a quick settlement that seems agreeable to any recipient until they realize it’s only a fraction of what they’d need in the future.
This is where a car accidents lawyer Perth has recommended professionals change everything. With an attorney, these calls can be avoided as negotiations are made without one party’s early missteps. Injury victims do not need to scratch their heads over specific legal language when someone else handles it during recovery.
But unfortunately, most people don’t realize this help is needed until well after three or four weeks have passed, after claims have been diminished by mistakes already made because someone didn’t know better.
The Paperwork Avalanche
Accident claims require an extraordinary amount of paperwork to be generated. This includes:
- Medical reports from various providers
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- Photos from scene, vehicle damage and injuries sustained
- Employment records (to show taking time off work due to injuries)
- Receipts for necessary expenditures (prescriptions, taxis, home care)
From creating copies to submitting originals to interested parties, various deadlines accompany each document. Insurance claims have timetables in which they must be filed; legal claims have limitation periods. Medical assessments must be scheduled within certain timeframes to help support claims.
Many victims don’t know that failure to submit certain documents, or submit them on time, will forfeit their claims altogether. The system doesn’t care if you’re injured or trying to figure out your next steps. It moves forward with or without you and that’s why documenting everything from day one is so crucial in those weeks after an accident.
The Financial Strain
Even with insurance involved, money becomes a huge issue faster than necessary. Once people begin acquiring medical treatments, specialist referrals, imaging tests, physiotherapy sessions, things become expensive fast. If injuries prevent someone from going back to work, their paychecks dry up, but bills don’t.
In addition, vehicles need repairs or replacements which need a source of funding before insurance reimbursements come through.
People struggle by dipping into savings, others irresponsibly turn toward credit cards and loans while some are forced to look into alternatives for ongoing treatments, compromising what’s best for them due to costs.
But this financial stress only adds more concerns on top of initial physical trauma and subsequent emotional trauma from the accident.
The time between when expenses occur and reimbursements come through can be months long, even when interim payments are available. Most people don’t know they can have interim payments until they’ve been made aware, and even then they come with obstacles unless someone’s by their side advocating. Thus, too many people absorb costs that should be reimbursed.
The Psychological Impact
People think of physical injuries, but fail to consider psychological ramifications of serious accidents in those first few weeks. First comes anxiety when getting behind the wheel again; then comes interrupted sleep cycles filled with either pain from injuries or reliving the accident. Frustration over being immobile and unable to do what one once could becomes apparent rather quickly.
Some people get PTSD from sheer trauma of an accident while others become depressed as time goes on due to pain, anxiety about work, mounting bills or feeling overwhelmed by the recovery process.
These psychological implications are incredibly real yet often fail to get treatment or recognized as compensable parts of an injury because victims don’t realize they’re part of the bigger picture.
When Complications Arise
Not every accident is a clear-cut incident; sometimes fault is contested either by each driver arguing it was the other’s fault or witnesses speaking on behalf of one person over another. Sometimes police reports are half-complete or inaccurate.
Add to this medical concerns where initial diagnoses report one injury but down the line show additional issues or complications (a strain here resulting in inflammation there). Recovery times take longer than anticipated or pre-existing conditions (known since before one’s being there) develop symptoms for which the person is now at fault, even if the crash was the catalyst for change but not clear right away.
These complications can derail claims if they’re not assessed properly right out of the gate, and evidence that seemed unimportant now becomes crucial down the line; statements made without clarity become punishable against injury victims.
This is when all too often someone realizes they should have had help from day one but now it’s too late.
Why Those First Few Weeks Control Everything
Whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, in those early stages sets the tone for the claim process thereafter, meaning timing is everything. If medical treatment is delayed or inconsistent, it decreases credibility with insurance companies. If someone speaks with their insurance company prematurely before they’re set up with an attorney, problems arise that are difficult to fix later on down the line.
It’s not just about recovering physically after an accident in the first few weeks; it’s about preserving legal rights and making sure all costs get addressed appropriately. It’s a lot of pressure on top of injury recovery, and it’s no wonder why people feel overwhelmed by it or end up getting far fewer reimbursements than they deserve.
This timeline sheds light upon what’s expected so the process can be easier to navigate. Proper resources in those first weeks, medical assessment, support and legal resource, make all the difference for both recovery and end results.
