You have probably heard that a gap in treatment may harm your personal injury claim. Well, that is not a rumor; it is true. Before delving into the effects of these gaps in injury claims, you need to understand the two main inactions that can be labeled as gaps in treatment.

Types of Treatment Gaps

There are two main types of treatment gaps as far as injury claims are concerned. The first one is when you don't seek immediate medical treatment after your injury. Some people delay treatment because:

• They don't know the extent of their injuries
• They don't have health insurance coverage or money to pay for treatment
• They believe in home-based treatment

The second treatment gap is where you seek immediate medical treatment but then doesn't follow all the medical advice you are given, don't make follow-up visits or refuses some form of treatment. You may incur such a gap in treatment if:

• You interrupt your treatment to go on vacation
• You experience a family emergency during the treatment
• Your religious belief doesn't allow a particular course of treatment

How It Affects Your Case

Whatever the cause of your treatment gap, it may affect your injury claim by:

Raising Doubts on Your Injuries

It is fairly easy for an insurance adjuster to say that you were not as injured as you are claiming because you could afford a gap in treatment. The rationale here is that anyone who is seriously hurt will do everything possible to get medical attention.

Lowering Your Damages

Medical care is one of the biggest components or personal injury cases. Therefore, inadequate medical care will lower your overall damages. In fact, some jurisdictions used software to calculate injury damages, and the software is designed to automatically lower damages if they detect gaps in treatment.

What You Can Do

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize the effects of your treatment gaps on the value of your claim; you should start by:

Telling Your Attorney about the Gaps

Your injury attorney should be privy to any information that can affect your claim, and this includes gaps in treatment. In fact, you should inform your attorney if you are planning or foreseeing a gap in treatment; in some cases, the attorney may help you avoid it. For example, if you can't get treatment because you don't have health insurance cover, the attorney may be able to get the medical providers to treat you on credit and place a lien on your injury award so that they get their fees when your case is determined.

Provide Sound Reasons for the Gap

Even the law recognizes that there may be things beyond your control that may create gaps in treatment for you. If that is the case, ensure you can prove your claim, and it's unlikely to affect your damages. A fitting example is if you stopped your injury treatment because you got infected with a more serious disease that needed to be treated first. 

For more information, contact your local personal injury lawyers.