After a car accident, you should see a doctor first to protect your health, then speak with a lawyer as soon as you know you are hurt or an insurance adjuster is calling. That sounds simple, but in the chaos after a crash many people reverse the order or wait too long on both.
In Virginia, where an average of 175 people are injured every single day, a “wait and see” approach can quietly damage both your recovery and your right to compensation.
The reality is you need both prompt medical care and early legal guidance. One protects your body, the other protects the claim that will pay for treating those injuries. The question is not doctors or lawyers — it is how to time each step so you do not leave dangerous gaps that insurers can use against you.
Doctor or Lawyer First After a Car Accident?
The basic priority order is:
- 1. Emergency medical care and safety
- 2. Follow-up evaluation with a doctor or urgent care
- 3. Early call to a Virginia car accident lawyer once you know you are injured or an insurer wants a statement
You should never delay medical treatment so you can “talk to a lawyer first.” No attorney wants to see a client trade their health for a slightly cleaner claim file. At the same time, once a doctor has evaluated you and you are stable, waiting weeks or months to involve counsel can leave you exposed to aggressive insurance tactics and missed deadlines.
This is where experienced Virginia car accident lawyers at Tronfeld West & Durrett sit in the sequence: after that first round of medical care, but before you give detailed recorded statements, sign releases, or accept quick settlement offers.
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800-321-6741
Why Your Health Has to Come First
From a medical perspective, you treat car accidents as trauma events, not paperwork problems. The forces involved in even a “moderate” crash can produce:
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Whiplash and soft tissue damage in the neck and back
- Internal bleeding or organ damage without obvious external bruising
- Spinal injuries that start as stiffness and progress into radiating pain or numbness
Medical guidance consistently warns that symptoms from these injuries often develop over 24 to 72 hours rather than immediately at the scene. That is why emergency physicians, trauma specialists, and personal injury lawyers all repeat the same advice in different words: get checked out even if you think you are “just shaken up.”
Virginia’s own crash data shows that on average 2.5 people die and 175 are injured in traffic crashes every day in the Commonwealth, which means emergency departments are constantly treating crash-related trauma that did not look dramatic from the roadside.
Prompt medical care does three things at once:
- Catches hidden injuries before they become life-threatening or permanent
- Creates a time-stamped record tying your symptoms to the crash
- Gives you a baseline so later worsening can be measured instead of guessed
If you skip this step or wait a week “to see if it goes away,” insurers will almost always argue that your injuries must be minor or unrelated.
How Delayed Treatment Can Hurt Your Virginia Claim
From a legal standpoint, medical records are the backbone of a car accident case. Insurers do not pay based on how frightening the crash looked; they pay based on what doctors diagnose, how long you treat, and what limitations remain.
When there are big gaps between the crash and your first doctor visit, or long stretches of time where you did not follow through on recommended care, adjusters point to those holes and argue:
- You were not really hurt, or you would have gone to the doctor sooner
- Something else in that gap must have caused your symptoms
- Your own delay made your injuries worse, so they will not pay for the full consequences
Many crash victims experience delayed symptoms after a car accident, including headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, and emotional changes that surface days later. Those very real medical timelines are why waiting to see a doctor is bad medicine and bad strategy at the same time.
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When to Contact a Car Accident Lawyer
You do not need to wait for a lawsuit to be “on the table” before calling a lawyer. In practice, it makes sense to reach out to a firm like Tronfeld West & Durrett when:
- You have been evaluated by a doctor and know you are injured
- You are starting to receive bills, explanation of benefits letters, or time-off-work slips
- An insurance adjuster is calling and wants a recorded statement or broad medical authorization
- Fault is disputed, unclear, or you are worried you might be blamed
- The crash involved serious injuries, a commercial vehicle, or a hit and run
At that point, you have taken care of the immediate health concerns and can let legal counsel start protecting the financial and legal side of the case. An early call also gives your attorney time to secure evidence while it is still available: scene photos, electronic data, camera footage, and witness statements.
Bringing in Virginia car accident lawyers early is also one of the best ways to make sure you do not run into the two-year statute of limitations that governs most personal injury claims in the Commonwealth.
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Common Mistakes People Make in the First Week
The pattern we see over and over again in serious Virginia car accident cases looks like this:
- “Toughing it out” instead of getting checked. People assume soreness is normal and only go to the doctor when pain becomes unbearable, which gives insurers room to argue the injury came from something else.
- Calling the insurance company before calling a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to get statements that lock you into a version of events before you fully understand your injuries or the law.
- Downplaying symptoms in early medical visits. Saying you are “fine” to be polite, then later reporting serious problems, makes it easy for insurers to challenge causation.
- Stopping treatment as soon as things improve a little. Gaps in care, missed appointments, and early self-discharge are all used as evidence that you are not really hurt or made things worse by not following medical advice.
- Waiting too close to the deadline to ask for legal help. Building a strong case takes time. Lawyers cannot fix missing records, lost footage, or expired deadlines with a last-minute phone call.
Avoiding those mistakes is often more about timing than anything else: doctor first, then lawyer, with both involved early enough that they can do their jobs properly.
How Tronfeld West & Durrett Can Help You Balance Medical and Legal Priorities
After a crash, you should not have to choose between getting the medical care you need and protecting your legal rights. Tronfeld West & Durrett has represented injured Virginians since 1972, and a large part of that work is helping clients coordinate these two tracks so they support each other instead of colliding.
When you bring a car accident case to the firm, your legal team can:
- Review your medical timeline and explain how it will look to an insurer
- Help you understand what additional evaluation or documentation may strengthen your claim
- Take over communications with adjusters so you are not fielding pressure while you recover
- Identify all available insurance coverage and explain how it interacts with health insurance and medical payments provisions
- Track deadlines under Virginia Code § 8.01-243 so the two-year personal injury statute does not sneak up on you
To start that conversation, you can contact our firm and request a free consultation with a lawyer who handles Virginia car accident cases every day.
FAQs About Seeing a Doctor or Lawyer After a Car Accident in Virginia
Should I see a doctor or a lawyer first after a car accident?
You should see a doctor first. Your immediate priority is ruling out serious or life-threatening injuries, including those that do not show symptoms right away. Once you have been evaluated and know you are hurt or are starting to receive calls from insurance adjusters, you should speak with a car accident lawyer to protect your claim.
How soon should I see a doctor after a car accident in Virginia?
Most medical and legal sources recommend seeing a doctor as soon as possible, ideally within 24 to 72 hours, even if you walked away from the scene. Adrenaline and shock can mask pain, and injuries like whiplash, concussions, and internal bleeding often take time to show themselves. Prompt care helps both your health and your case.
Can waiting to see a doctor hurt my car accident claim?
Yes. Delays in treatment give insurers an excuse to argue that your injuries were minor, caused by something else, or made worse by your own inaction. They also create gaps in your medical records that defense lawyers can use to challenge causation. In Virginia’s contributory negligence system, those arguments can be especially damaging.
When should I call a Virginia car accident lawyer?
You should call a lawyer as soon as you know you are injured or an insurance company is asking for detailed statements or broad medical authorizations. Early legal help is particularly important when there are serious injuries, questions about fault, multiple vehicles, a hit and run, or a commercial driver involved.
Do I have to talk to the insurance company before I talk to a lawyer?
No. You are required to report the crash to your own insurer within a reasonable time, but you do not have to give recorded statements or detailed narratives before speaking with counsel. For the other driver’s insurer, it is usually better to let a lawyer handle communications from the start so you do not unintentionally say something that weakens your claim.
What if I do not have health insurance but need to see a doctor after a crash?
Lack of health insurance should not keep you from getting evaluated. In some cases, providers will treat accident patients with the expectation of being paid from a future settlement, and your attorney can help you understand options like medical payments coverage, hospital financial assistance programs, and other arrangements. The key is not to sacrifice your health because you are worried about how a bill will be handled before you even know how serious your injuries are.
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