Seeking Alternative Treatment After An Injury? Here Are Some Details To Demonstrate

Posted on: 26 October 2018

In a personal injury law case, the defendant's attorneys will heavily scrutinize the path that you've taken and continue to take in the treatment of your injury. If there's an opportunity for them to suggest that you've taken the wrong course of action, they'll be quick to attempt to get the case dismissed — or, at the very least, argue that their client shouldn't give you the settlement that you're asking for. It's OK to pursue a non-conventional treatment after an injury, but because the defendant's attorneys may not understand your approach, you'll need to be ready with these details.

A Physician Has Recommended It

While the physician whom you've been seeing after your injury might be treating you in certain ways or referring you to specific medical practitioners, he or she might also have recommended a non-conventional course of action. For example, instead of the traditional approach of physical therapy after an injury, your doctor may have advocated yoga. You can't simply tell the defendant's attorneys during discovery that you're pursuing yoga to recover from your injury — but, if you have a letter from your doctor stating that he or she believes yoga to be an appropriate alternative treatment, this idea immediately carries more weight.

You Can Demonstrate Progress

The defendant's attorneys may also question how well your alternative treatment is going. If it isn't helping your situation, they may suggest that you haven't taken the right approach to caring for yourself or they might even hint that you aren't taking the recovery serious because the injury isn't as serious as you've indicated. It's important for you to be able to show that your alternative treatment is making progress. In the case of your yoga classes, for example, a letter from your certified yoga instructor that indicates how your range of motion has improved since you started taking yoga will be helpful.

It's Not Too Late For Another Approach

You need to make it clear that your decision to opt for an alternative treatment isn't getting in the way of a standard form of treatment. In other words, you must show the attorneys that you can still recover from the injury using a traditional method, but that you're exploring this secondary method first. For example, you might argue how yoga is helping you, but if it doesn't fully give you the desired results, you've already spoken to a physical therapist who can help you.

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