If you have sustained an injury and are looking to file a personal injury claim, medical treatment can be a very important factor in your case. Choosing to discontinue medical treatment can have a negative impact on your claim.
How Choosing to Discontinue Medical Treatment Can Devalue Your Injury Claim
Sometimes, clients call us and say they want to discontinue medical treatment with their providers. For several reasons, however, we always discourage them from doing so. First and foremost, your goal is to get better, and discontinuing your treatment won’t produce the best results. In the long run, as far as your lawsuit is concerned, you have an obligation to continue your treatment and work consistently toward getting better. If you don’t, the attorneys for the insurance company will throw that in your face at trial and say that, by choosing to discontinue medical treatment, you failed in your duty to mitigate your damages.
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The fact is that you may even make your condition worse by deciding not to maximize your treatment and discontinue medical treatment. The insurance company can also throw that information in front of a jury and use it to reduce the amount you receive when the jury renders its verdict. Also, that defense is sometimes used to get cases dismissed when an attorney says, “Judge, look at this guy. He treated in 2015, and he hasn’t seen anybody in 18 months. Obviously, he’s not that hurt. We think this case should be dismissed.” For a lot of reasons – both strategic and to ensure that your injuries continue to get better – you should continue your treatment. We always urge our clients to continue their treatment to make sure they reach the maximum possible recovery level.
If you have any questions about your decision to discontinue medical treatment and how it affects your personal injury claim, please call experienced Hamburg to get a free confidential case evaluation.