Requesting medical records isn’t something that sounds scary or related to car accidents. So what business does the insurance provider for the at-fault driver have in requesting your medical records in a car wreck case?
Well, if you have soft tissue injuries or other injuries on your claim, then they’ll make it their business to try and find out if that injury could have happened from another source. Ideally, you’ll know that they won’t find anything at all, but that’s not always the case. Medical records can substantially diminish your claim if you don’t’ have the proper people working on your case. That’s one of the things a car wreck attorney in Houston, TX can help you with.
Past Injuries
Your medical history can have a much larger effect on your car wreck case then you might have wanted to admit. Some injuries just seem to keep coming back, and it’s in these events that it seems the worst.
Past injuries can affect cases in many ways but follow this example for a common situation. Say a driver was injured in a side-impact crash, and during that crash, they sustained a cracked hip, muscle damage, and a knee injury. However, upon closer inspection, the insurance company finds that this driver had knee surgery in high school as part of a sports injury.
The issue with that example is that now the insurance provider will do everything possible to avoid paying for that knee injury. The most common claim is that the injury only occurred because of the past injury, that without the prior surgery, the knee would have held up just fine. Clearly, that’s not the case, but it almost always requires you to bring in medical experts to explain that their logic isn’t reasonable.
A History of Insurance Claims
How many crashes have you been in over the last few years? Now some people are accident-prone, literally, car accident-prone. That doesn’t always mean that they’re bad drivers, and sometimes one accident will lead to anxiety, which will lead to another accident, and then the cycle continues.
If you have a long history of insurance claims, though, and each one shows something on your medical record, then you’ll have to explain yourself. Car insurance companies don’t take fraud suspicions lightly, and it’s probable that if your medical records line up too closely with your insurance claims, they’ll investigate your claim.
A History of Soft Tissue Damage
Soft tissue injuries are at the top of the list for suspicion when it comes to car insurance companies. Not only are they challenging to diagnose, but it’s nearly impossible to back them up. It is simply the victim of a wreck, saying that they are hurting and sore. But, soft tissue injuries are real, and they do cause pain.
So, why is this a red flag on your medical records? The same reason why it’s suspicious if your medical record and insurance claim history look too similar. If you have multiple complaints of soft tissue injuries such as strains, sprains, pulled muscles, and whiplash, your insurance company will go on the defense.
A history of soft tissue damage will often come with the speculation that you’ve likely had injuries from other accidents. Overuse, sports, workplace injuries, car accidents, and more all lead to soft tissue damage. Now it’s good that you went to the doctor all those times.
However, when it comes to making your claim, the car insurance provider involved will begin to question why you’re going to the doctor so much. They’ll wonder if there are underlying factors here, possibly a missed diagnosis or some other way to push the blame onto someone other than the at-fault driver.
Connect With an Auto Accident Attorney for Your Car Wreck Case
If you’ve put in a claim with your insurance provider, you may be waiting for their check to come through. But behind the scenes is this whole other process of going through the medical evidence and identifying a history of false claims or potentially false claims.
Your insurance company and the insurance provider for the at-fault driver will go through all of that information together. Only after they review your extensive medical history for injuries will they cut you a check, and after they see a history with numerous injuries, they may have some questions for you.
What you can do to take over this issue and manage it further is to connect with a local car accident law firm based in Houston, TX. At McDonald Worley, you’ll find numerous attorneys ready and able to handle your case.