Personal Injury

Can refusing medical treatment hurt your injury claim in Georgia?

August 2, 2024

Yes. Refusing or delaying medical treatment after an injury in Georgia makes it harder to prove the accident caused your injuries. It gives insurers a reason to doubt them and to argue part of the blame is yours. The Scott Pryor Law Group tells injured people to get checked right away and follow their doctor's orders.

How does skipping the doctor make it harder to prove what caused your injury?

Skipping the doctor leaves a gap between the accident and your first medical record, and insurers use that gap to argue something else caused your injuries. The Scott Pryor Law Group builds Georgia injury claims on medical records, because they are how a claim connects your injuries to the accident.

Picture a rear-end crash. You feel sore but go on to work so your paycheck is not affected. You see a doctor the next day. The insurer now has a question to ask: did the injury happen in the crash, at work, or at home that evening?

That question can follow a claim from the first offer to the last. The longer the gap, the easier it is for the other side to raise it.

Waiting also carries a health risk. An untreated injury can get worse, lead to larger medical bills later and keep you out of work longer. Those costs can last for years.

Medical care right after the accident closes the gap. It creates a record, made close in time to the accident, that ties what happened to how you were hurt.

How do insurance companies use a delay in treatment?

Insurance companies use a delay in treatment to argue that your injuries were minor, or that they got worse because you waited. The Scott Pryor Law Group expects this argument in Georgia injury claims and answers it with the medical records and the facts of the accident.

Most injury claims end in a settlement with an insurance company, without a trial. That makes the insurer’s view of your injuries important.

A delay can cause trouble with more than one insurer:

• Health insurers may question how serious your injuries are or what caused them.
• Auto and liability insurers may treat the delay as a sign your injuries were minor, or argue they got worse because you did not get care.

Either way, the result can be a lower offer or a denied claim. The insurer’s incentive is to pay less, and a gap in treatment gives it an easy reason.

Adjusters look for gaps after the first visit too. Missed follow-up appointments, or therapy you stopped early, raise the same questions as a late first visit.

This happens in car crash claims, slip and fall claims and rideshare claims alike. In each one, the insurer looks at when you first got care and whether you kept going.

Can refusing treatment make you partly at fault for your injuries?

It can. In a Georgia injury claim, an insurer may argue that refusing treatment made your injuries worse and that you share the blame for that harm. The Scott Pryor Law Group takes that argument seriously, because under Georgia’s comparative negligence rule, the share of blame assigned to you matters.

Georgia’s comparative negligence rule: If you are less than 50% at fault, you can still recover damages, reduced by your percentage of fault. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33

Insurers and courts can view skipped care as part of the cause of your injuries. If your condition got worse because you did not see a doctor, or did not follow your doctor’s orders, the other side will say that part of the harm is on you.

That argument can trim what you recover. If it pushes your share of the blame high enough, it can put recovery out of reach under the rule above.

The fix starts now. Get treated, keep your appointments and follow your doctor’s orders. Each visit adds to the record that answers this argument.

Why do medical records matter so much in an injury claim?

Medical records show what injuries you had, how serious they were and what treatment you needed, each tied to a date. The Scott Pryor Law Group relies on those records in Georgia injury claims, because no one assumes the other side is to blame. Fault and injury both have to be proven.

Medical records document three things:

1. The injuries you suffered.
2. How serious they are.
3. The treatment you received to recover.

Refusing treatment usually means there is little or no record. Without one, proving that the other party caused your injuries can be close to impossible. Your own description of the pain still matters, and it carries more weight when a doctor’s notes back it up.

Records also support the cost side of a claim: the bills, the prescriptions and the therapy.

Ask for copies of each visit summary, imaging report and bill as you go, and keep them in one place. When we review a claim, those records tell us how the injury happened, how it has changed and what care may still lie ahead.

Our article on the evidence a Georgia injury claim needs covers the other records that help.

Does refusing treatment matter outside an injury claim?

It can. If someone attacked you, skipping treatment leaves out medical evidence that could matter in a criminal case against them as well. The Scott Pryor Law Group handles the injury side in Georgia, including claims after an attack on a property with poor security, and the same medical records support both.

A doctor’s notes, photos of your injuries and the date you were treated help show what happened and how badly you were hurt. Without them, any case about the attack leans on memory and your word alone.

The same is true after a car crash or a fall. Treatment creates evidence that lasts, made by someone with no stake in the outcome.

If another person’s violence hurt you on someone else’s property, our premises liability lawyer page explains how those claims work.

What if you had a reason to refuse treatment?

Some people decline medical care for a reason, such as a religious belief. The reason matters, and an insurer will still question it. The Scott Pryor Law Group looks at why you refused and how it affects your Georgia injury claim before it advises you on next steps.

Even a sound reason can make a claim harder. Expect the other side to ask why you declined care and whether it changed your recovery. Be ready to explain it, and keep any records that show your reason.

Other reasons come up too. Some people skip care because they feel fine at first or cannot take time off work. These reasons are common. They still leave a gap the insurer will point to.

A refusal does not always end a claim. You may still have options, and the facts of your case decide them. Tell us exactly what happened and when, and we will give you an honest answer.

What should you do if you already skipped or delayed treatment?

If you skipped or delayed treatment after an injury in Georgia, get checked now and tell the doctor how and when you were hurt. Then talk to The Scott Pryor Law Group. A late start makes an injury claim harder, and we will tell you honestly where yours stands.

1. See a doctor now. A late record is better than none.
2. Give the full history. Tell the doctor about the accident, the date and every symptom since.
3. Follow the treatment plan. Keep your appointments and finish any therapy you are given.
4. Keep everything. Save visit summaries, bills and prescriptions.
5. Let us handle the insurer. Do not explain the delay to an adjuster on your own.

The deadline: Victims generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33

We offer a free consultation, and you don’t pay unless we win your case. Learn more about our firm and the cases we handle, or review our case results. Schedule a free consultation. Phones answered 24/7.

Written by the legal team at The Scott Pryor Law Group. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.