By: Michael J. McConnell, Attorney Dedicated to Protecting the Rights of Victims of Drunk Drivers in Yonkers, White Plains, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle.
It is well known that drunk driving is a leading cause of car accidents. What most people don’t realize is just how likely they are to be a victim of it.
Statistics show that:
- every 79 seconds someone is killed or injured in a drunk driving accident;
- two out of three people will be impacted by drunk driving in their lifetime;
- 1/3rd of Americans will be directly involved in a DWI crash at some point;
- In 2023, there were 269 DWI arrests in Westchester County, which was an increase from the previous year.
The DWI accidents that we see in the news are usually the most tragic ones. They are the ones where family and friends have suffered the forever heartbreak of losing loved ones to the senselessness of drunk driving.
Or sometimes they are the cases where the victim survives but suffers life-altering injuries that cause them to be rushed to the emergency room by ambulance from the scene.
In addition to those types of drunk driving crashes, there are countless others where the extent of the victim’s injuries might not be as immediately apparent at the scene of the accident.
For example, maybe they were rearended by a drunk driver but didn’t break any bones or feel that they needed to go by ambulance to the hospital.
What should someone do if they are hit by a drunk driver in Westchester County but they don’t see any broken bones or feel like they are in a lot of pain?
In general, it is recommended to still seek immediate medical attention. Even if the accident happened days, weeks, or perhaps even months ago, they should get checked out now. There is no need to wait another day.
In this article, I explain why it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible after being hit by a drunk driver in Westchester.
From both the standpoint of one’s health and their ability to get maximum compensation if they decide to sue, immediate medical treatment is often crucial. Please check out the video above and continue reading below to learn more.
The Importance of Immediate Medical Treatment if Hurt by a Drunk Driver
First and foremost, it is important for victims of DWI accidents to know that certain injuries are not always visible or easily identified.
Unlike a broken bone, a dislocated shoulder, or deep lacerations, there are plenty of conditions that can be somewhat hidden unless you are evaluated by a qualified medical professional.
Examples of possible hidden injuries after a car accident in Westchester County include:
- Head injuries – sometimes referred to as concussions, traumatic brain injury (TBI), etc.
- Soft tissue injuries – whiplash, strains, sprains, and back pain.
- Internal injuries –organ damage, internal bleeding.
- Psychological injuries, including PTSD.
What all of these conditions have in common is that they are not necessarily visible to the naked eye.
While a doctor might be able to identify them through various means (including diagnostic tests), an accident victim might not realize their existence until much later.
Especially right after an accident – including in the days or weeks that follow – the adrenaline from the shock of the event can mask the pain of soft tissue injuries or the symptoms of concussions.
Delaying Treatment for an Injury after a Drunk Driving Accident Can Have Negative Health Consequences
From a pure health standpoint, delays in getting proper medical care can make the condition worse. It is well documented that certain hidden injuries such as concussions can get worse if left untreated.
The same holds true for any other type of injury, including back pain, whiplash, and internal bleeding.
Without proper treatment, almost any injury can get worse. This can result in anything from having more pain all the way to serious complications, including death.
Given the above, it is essential to get immediate medical treatment to help make sure that an injury doesn’t go undiagnosed and untreated.
Immediate Medical Treatment after Being Hit by a Drunk Driver in Westchester is Important if You Want to Sue
In addition to the necessity of early medical intervention from a health perspective, there is another reality that victims of drunk driving must consider.
If you want to sue the drunk driver, early medical documentation can be critical. This is especially true if you want to pursue maximum compensation for the accident. Here is why.
When you bring your lawsuit, the drunk driver’s insurance company is going to defend the lawsuit. They are a for-profit company and are going to try everything they can to pay you as little as possible.
To be sure, in the typical accident that was clearly caused by drunk driving, there might not be any dispute that the defendant is liable. But what accident victims need to remember is this: liability is just one part of the equation in a Westchester personal injury case. You also need to prove your damages.
Damages reflect the amount of harm caused by the accident that you are pursuing compensation for. And it is the damages part of your case that the insurance company defending the drunk driver is likely going to dispute even if liability is obvious.
Most cases include two distinct types of damages:
- Economic damages (lost wages, medical expenses, etc.)
- Non-economic damages (pain and suffering)
Both types of damages can result in significant compensation depending on the facts of the case.
For example, the inability to work from the accident and expensive medical bills might result in fairly high economic damages.
If the injuries from the accident negatively impact the victim’s quality of life among other things, there could be substantial non-economic damages.
Indeed, non-economic damages for things like pain and suffering can often be the greatest source of compensation in a personal injury case as they sometimes far exceed economic damages.
Nonsense the Insurance Company Might Argue if You Don’t Get Immediate Medical Care Following an Accident
The insurance company defending the drunk driver is likely to use one or more of the following arguments if you delay getting medical treatment for your injuries.
- “The injuries can’t be that serious because if they were you would’ve went to the hospital or a doctor right away.”
- “You are exaggerating your injuries. Yes, you might be getting medical treatment now and claiming you are in a lot of pain, but if the injuries were really that bad you wouldn’t have waited to see a doctor as long as you did.”
- “You are making it all up. You didn’t start getting medical treatment until you decided to sue because you wanted to drive up the cost of your settlement.”
- “Even if we the powerful insurance company agree that you are as injured as you say, we believe all of that pain you are in is from some other cause besides the accident. Perhaps you have a pre-existing condition or maybe there was a new accident after the drunk driving crash that was the real cause of your injuries. The delay in getting treatment shows that something else must’ve caused your pain.”
Of course, these arguments in most cases are complete nonsense and there are ways to fight back.
I will discuss how those insurance company arguments can be crushed in the section below, but right now I do want to highlight this very simple yet important point:
You want to have the strongest case possible, and you want to make things as easy as you can. This is often best accomplished by getting checked out by a doctor immediately or as early as possible after an accident. With that said, let’s talk about how to combat those bogus insurance company arguments if there was a delay in seeing a doctor.
There are plenty of reasons why someone might have waited to get medical treatment after being injured by a drunk driver.
In fact, it is quite common for someone to not realize the extent of their injuries. Anyone who has been injured before knows this to be true.
For example, something starts off at a lower level of pain and then either doesn’t go away or grows worse over time. Whether it was the adrenaline of the accident, a high pain tolerance, or any other combination of factors, not everyone goes to the emergency room the second they feel pain.
What is also somewhat common is the fear of medical bills. Maybe the injured person didn’t realize that they could get their medical bills covered for the accident and decided to “tough it out” until they found that out.
In some cases, life simply gets in the way and a person’s own health takes a back seat. Parents especially understand this: you are so focused on your kids in addition to everything else you have going on that you simply struggle to make time to get the medical care you need until the pain gets too great or doesn’t go away.
Also, many of the hidden injuries I discussed above don’t show up until hours, days, or weeks after the accident. The drunk driving victim may have believed they were fine until the symptoms actually showed up. In such cases, the delay in treatment is perfectly consistent with the diagnosis and actually tends to boost the victim’s credibility.
And by the way, think about this logically for a moment:
Should someone really be penalized for not having a crystal ball with them at the accident scene telling them they were going to have a hidden injury and should therefore get checked out urgently?
Of course not!
There are countless other acceptable reasons why someone would wait to seek medical care after a car accident. The ones above are just some of the most common.
With that said, it is somewhat true that most of those arguments in some way put the victim on the defensive, so it is always much better if you don’t have to make them in the first place.
Make Things Easy: Get Immediate Medical Treatment after You are Hit by a Drunk Driver
The bottom line is this: if you were in an accident caused by a drunk driver, consider seeing a doctor right away.
While there are ways to fight back against arguments that a delay in treatment should somehow lessen your compensation, you want to make things as easy as possible.
Especially in a case where the drunk driver is clearly in the wrong for the accident, you want to hold all the leverage, strength, and power that you can during litigation and settlement negotiations.
Top dollar settlements typically come from strong cases. It makes zero sense to give your adversary any ammo so to speak.
While we might agree that the whole argument about delays in medical treatment being a reason for less compensation is ridiculous, you never know when someone on a potential jury could see it differently. You can bet the insurance company will try to hammer the point about a delay in care during settlement discussions or trial if it gets to that point.
Why give them that opportunity?
Conclusion: Seeing a doctor sooner rather than later after an accident can be the key to a healthy recovery and potentially a top dollar settlement.
Getting blindsided by a drunk driver slamming their thousand-pound vehicle into you can be terrifying. In the shock of the accident with your adrenaline sky high, you might think that you don’t need to see a doctor. But that can be a mistake as you could have hidden injuries that could require urgent attention. Plus, the life-altering nature of those injuries could entitle you to significant compensation if you decide to sue.
So the big takeaway is this: if you are injured by a drunk driver in Westchester County, don’t delay seeing a doctor.
Not only do you want to make sure that you don’t miss a hidden injury, you also want to get the most money possible in a settlement. Drunk drivers must be held accountable – don’t let them off the hook by even a single dollar waiting to get the care that you need.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by a drunk driver, Westchester County personal injury lawyer Michael J. McConnell stands ready to help and offers free consultations with zero strings attached.
The free consultation can be done in person at his office in Ardsley, by phone, or by video. The date and time can be whenever is most convenient for you – including nights or weekends.
Michael J. McConnell works on a contingency fee basis, which means no fee unless he wins.
Who is Michael J. McConnell? He is a no-nonsense personal injury lawyer focused on achieving justice for people who have been hurt by drunk drivers. He is a former NYC prosecutor who successfully prosecuted countless DWI defendants to the fullest extent possible under the law.
Drunk driving can impact any person or family at any time, and those that jeopardize the life and safety of others by driving intoxicated must be held accountable.
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