Have you been injured in a motor vehicle accident or as the result of someone else’s fault in the past several months while the COVID 19 virus has been causing great changes to our medical community?

If so, the top rated personal injury law firm of Larson Larimer Schneider suggests taking the following steps to assure the successful outcome of your claim and to make sure the insurance companies compensate you fairly when the time comes.  The following steps will help assure a successful outcome:

1. Contact our office for assistance.  Our office is considered an essential businesses per Colorado’s stay-at-home orders.  We have staff working onsite and from home. You can reach our offices 24/7 and if you can’t reach a member immediately, we will be notified and get back to you shortly.
2. We can arrange initial meetings by telephone, Skype, Facetime, or other face-to-face method so that you don’t have to leave your home to meet with one of our attorneys.
3. If you have serious injuries, do not let the COVID 19 virus prevent you from going to an emergency room or urgent care.  Emergency facilities will be taking extensive efforts to make sure you are safe and you need to seek medical attention immediately if you have any serious injuries.
4. If you don’t believe your injuries are life threatening or an emergency, make sure you contact your primary care doctor (PCP) or a medical doctor immediately following your injury.  Although many doctors are not seeing patients in person during this time, they are seeing patients through video, phone calls and other methods.
5. It is vital to your claim that you report your injuries immediately following the accident even though you might not be able to get hands-on treatment right away.  As a general rule, if the insurance company does not see proof of an injury through immediate treatment and complaints, they will do everything in their power to avoid paying for that injury.
6. Your doctor can make suggestions for home treatment and can begin to make a record of your injuries.  If you don’t report your injuries immediately, the insurance companies will use this to avoid payment regardless of any mandatory shelter in place orders.
7. If you don’t have a PCP or regular doctor, contact our offices and we can refer you to a medical provider who is currently seeing new patients via video conference or by phone. We have coordinated with a network of doctors that can immediately see our clients and assess your injuries.
8. If you have an existing claim that you have been treating with your doctor, but your doctor is no longer seeing anyone during the COVID 19 crisis – make sure you contact your doctor’s office and ask for home exercises or activities you can perform during this time so that you do not have a setback of your injuries.  Insurance companies will minimize your injuries due to any gaps in treatment despite orders for you to stay home.
9. Keep a journal or daily log detailing your injuries, the pain your injuries are causing, and the impact these injuries are having on your daily life.  Even if you cannot see a doctor in person, you can still create a record of your activities, home exercises, and pain. This may feel awkward at first, but during this unprecedented pandemic, it’s imperative that our clients continue to treat and track their injuries.