Gaps in medical treatment, and why they matter

After a crash, people tend to wait. The pain might settle, the appointment is hard to fit around work, and nobody wants to make a fuss. Then three weeks pass with nothing on the record.

How a gap gets read

Insurers work from records. If there is a long stretch between the crash and the first visit, or between one visit and the next, the file shows a person who was not being treated. The usual argument is that the injury was minor, or that something else caused it during the gap.

Keeping the record honest

• Get checked within a day or two, even if you only feel stiff.
• Go to the follow-up appointments you are given, or reschedule rather than skip.
• Tell every provider the injury came from a vehicle crash, and when.
• If you stop treatment because you cannot afford it or cannot get time off, write that down.
• Keep your own pain and sleep diary between visits.

None of this means seeing a doctor you do not need. It means that the help you do need shows up on paper at the time you needed it.

Written by the Crash Next Law team. General information, not legal advice.