Chances are you get asked this question every day: “How are you doing?” Because you might not know the person that well or have the time to go into how you are really doing, you may give the typical answer of “Fine,” when truthfully you may be miserable. Because it is second nature to answer this way, it is important that you are aware of who you are giving an answer like this to. For instance, you should never answer a doctor this way.
After being injured in a motorcycle accident, a doctor will ask you how you are feeling. While it can be tempting to answer this question with a general statement like, “I hurt all over,” it’s not in your best interest to do so. Because everything you say will go into your medical file, it is critical to your personal injury claim for you to articulate your injuries to the doctor.
Careful Articulation Is Key
You may have pain all over, so it may seem pointless to carefully articulate each location of pain, but try to do so anyway. For example, instead of saying your back hurts, try explaining to your doctor the symptoms you are experiencing. Maybe you are feeling a shooting pain with a tingling sensation. You will want to be as specific as you can when explaining your pain to your doctor because it can translate into dollars and cents.
Also, don’t fail to mention the smaller things. While it is easy to focus on the more painful injuries, you don’t want to discount a headache, bruising, scrapes, road rash, and other injuries. Remember, if you don’t mention these injuries to your doctor, they will not make it into your medical file. The insurance company for the other side won’t consider compensating you for costs associated with injuries that are not documented in your official medical records. This is why it is important to carefully explain all of your concerns to your doctor. It can translate into a higher settlement offer for you.
If you know of someone who has been injured in a crash, please share this blog on Facebook so he or she will know what to do in order to get the best compensation possible.
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