Persons who have been injured in a car crash or other form of negligence committed by other persons often encounter difficulties in dealing with the insurance company for the at-fault party. If the insurer refuses to offer a reasonable amount of money to pay for medical costs and lost income, the injured person will generally seek the services of an experienced personal injury attorney.
In order for the attorney to properly prepare a case for trial, the cooperation of the injured person’s treating physician is required. The physician is needed to confirm the following information.
1. That the patient sustained a bodily injury due to the car crash.
2. That the medical bills charged by the physician were reasonable and necessary for the patient’s condition.
3. That the patient’s complaints of pain and disability are valid and expected in view of the injuries suffered.
4. That the patient will (or may) continue to experience future pain or disability due to the injuries inflicted by the car wreck.
Unfortunately, many physicians have a strong distaste for participating in the legal system. This is understandable. After all, doctors spend years of training in order to enable them to treat patients, not testify in court.
However, a physician’s failure to cooperate with his patient’s attorney can seriously impair the patient’s ability to obtain fair money for the injuries suffered. In a worst case scenario, a patient may have to be referred to another physician to perform an examination and prepare an evaluation to be used at trial, along with that physician’s testimony at the trial.