Usually the wacky comments I hear are from other lawyers or insurance adjusters who are making up laws in an effort to screw over an injured worker. But the other day I heard something crazy from a potential client.
It was actually a doctor that called me. He fell while on a business trip at a conference. That was about two months ago. He injured his leg when he fell and has been treating himself with ice, rest and pain meds.
He wasn’t going to do anything at first because he didn’t want to make waves, but now he realizes that his leg is getting worse, not better.
I asked him when he first went to the doctor and he told me that he didn’t need to do that because he was a doctor. I asked if he got x-rays and he said, “No, I know my body and nothing is broken.”
So basically he wants to be his own expert witness. That will never fly as he’s clearly biased in his favor.
Whether you are a doctor, teacher, plumber, pilot, NFL QB or any other injured worker, you can only prove that you have an injury by getting actual medical treatment. And that treatment needs to be from somebody independent who is going to give an honest opinion.
The longer that you wait after an accident to see a doctor, the harder it is to prove that your problems are related to the accident. The first thing a defense attorney would do was grill you as to why you waited so long to get medical help.
Seeing a doctor helps prove your case. If you act like a tough guy by not getting treatment or think you can take care of yourself, you will kill your case.
As an aside, I actually believe this doctor didn’t go to one of his colleagues for help because he was having an affair with a co-worker and it sounds like things have blown up on that end. So it sounds like everything is getting worse for him.
Bottom line is that if you are hurt, get help. And go from there.
