When I was a defense lawyer for a major insurance company, one of the first things we looked for when defending personal injury claims was "gaps" in treatment. That means, we would look at every single date of treatment and try to find "gaps" of 10 days or more. Sometimes, we'd see gaps of 2 weeks or much more. We would use those against the person making the claim. Also, we would look to see when treatment commenced after an accident. We would sink our teeth into delays of over 10 or more days. Why do insurance companies use gaps in treatment and delay in commencement in treatment against you? Because they want to minimize your case. They will argue, "Well, if you were REALLY hurt, you wouldn't have waited 2 weeks to get treatment." Or they might say, "Well, if you were in any REAL pain, you would have treated more regularly without missing appointments etc."
The insurance companies will do anything they can to minimize your claim. My clients are often surprised by this tactic. My clients will say, "Well, I couldn't get in to see the doctor for a long time" or "I couldn't get a physical therapy appointment for a month..." The excuses are legitimate and understandable, but that doesn't mean insurance companies will be easy on you or "understanding." They simply don't care. They will use it against you because at the end of the day, they aren't really interested in compensating you. They are interested in minimizing their losses. Therefore, the lesson here is to commence treatment as soon as possible after an accident, even if you only suspect an injury. You don't want to take chances. Also, once you start treatment, be diligent about your health care and follow up visits. In all fairness, there are some insurance adjusters who do understand there are sometimes legitimate reasons for delays in treatment, but most of them won't see the big picture. Comments are closed.
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Attorney Robert MansourRobert Mansour is an attorney in Santa Clarita, California who has been practicing law since 1993. After working for 13 years for the insurance companies, he now counsels victims of personal injury. Click here to learn more about Robert Mansour. Categories
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