Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
While even a low-speed collision between two cars can cause physical injuries, occupants sometimes walk away unharmed from fender-benders. A low-speed collision with a motorcycle, on the other hand, almost always causes an injury. A motorcycle accident at any speed can cause disabling injuries.
While car occupants are surrounded by a steel cage and protected by airbags, motorcyclists have only their gear to protect them from injury. Helmets reduce the risk of a head injury, but no helmet can eliminate the risk that a concussion will cause a traumatic brain injury. A leather jacket provides some protection against road rash, but it cannot prevent broken bones or organ damage.
Seeing a Doctor After a Georgia Motorcycle Accident Improves Injury Outcomes
Every physical injury resulting from a collision between a car and a motorcycle should be taken seriously. Prompt medical attention can help injuries heal more rapidly. An immediate visit to a clinic or emergency room can also help motorcyclists avoid the serious consequences of hidden injuries.
Head injuries can be deceptive. A concussion can cause the brain to bleed or swell without producing more than a mild headache. By the time the symptoms worsen, it may be too late to prevent death.
A motorcycle accident that causes a loss of consciousness requires an immediate evaluation by a neurologist. Even if a motorcyclist does not lose consciousness, a concussion should be evaluated by someone who is trained to recognize the symptoms of brain injuries. Asking “how many fingers am I holding up?” is no longer the protocol for evaluating a head injury.
Prompt treatment of other injuries can speed a motorcyclist’s recovery and prevent conditions from worsening. Treating road rash, for example, can prevent a life-threatening infection from taking hold.
Muscle injuries often improve with physical therapy after a period of rest. Ignoring muscle pain until it becomes disabling can result in a prolonged impairment. Getting treatment right away improves the odds of making a full recovery.
Maximize Insurance Settlements by Seeing a Doctor Immediately After a Georgia Motorcycle Accident
Insurance claims adjusters are not on the side of injury victims. Their goal is to save money for the insurance company. They do that by paying as little as possible to settle claims.
Insurance adjusters scrutinize medical records for evidence that injuries are not serious. Injury victims protect themselves by visiting a doctor promptly and by describing their pain in detail.
Motorcycle accident victims often have multiple injuries. The temptation is to talk about the most serious injuries while ignoring pain that seems less significant. The pain of a broken arm might dwarf a nagging twinge in the lower back, so a motorcyclist might not mention the smaller pain.
Three months later, after the broken arm has healed, the back pain might persist. It might even have changed from a twinge to a constant, nagging injury. If the motorcyclist did not tell the doctor about the pain in the first few days after the accident, an insurance adjuster is likely to claim that the pain had some other cause and that the motorcycle rider belatedly decided to attribute it to the accident.
Telling a doctor about every injury makes it more difficult for insurance adjusters to claim that an injury is not accident related. If new pain develops after a first meeting with a doctor, it is important to contact the doctor as soon as possible so that the pain can be documented in medical records.
Time Limits for Seeing a Doctor After a Georgia Motorcycle Accident
The right to make a motorcycle accident claim in Georgia is usually lost if a lawsuit is not filed or the claim is not settled within two years. However, there is no fixed time limit for seeing a doctor after a motorcycle accident.
Waiting to see a doctor is never a good idea. Prompt medical care helps accident victims heal. It also helps their motorcycle accident lawyer settle their insurance claim for its full value. Motorcycle accident victims should therefore visit a doctor as soon as they can.
