One of the worst things to endure when traveling is an injury. It can ruin your vacation and make everything else about the trip more challenging. Below, we’ll explain how to deal with an injury while on vacation, whether from a car accident or other incident.
Seek Medical Treatment Immediately
The first thing you should do after sustaining an injury while traveling is seek medical treatment. Even if the injuries seem minor, you don’t want to take any risks with your health.
Let the hospital or medical facility run the necessary tests and inform them you’re only a temporary resident and will need to travel soon. Ensure you get the green light from them that it’s safe to travel long distances with your injuries. Getting medical treatment also ensures that you have legal documentation for your injuries, giving you proof of when and how they occurred. Later, if the issues worsen, you will need these documents to file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
Collect As Much Information As Possible
It’s crucial to collect as much information from the incident that causes the injury as possible. You should save your medical documentation and collect information from anyone involved in the incident, such as their driver’s license number or phone number if it was a car accident.
If there were witnesses to the incident or accident, collect their information too. If you sustain visible injuries, take photos of the injuries and the accident, if possible, or have a friend or family member do it for you.
How To Get Home
Another problematic aspect of dealing with an injury while on vacation is figuring out how to get home if the damage has made driving or flying commercially impossible. Your options for traveling with an injury are limited, but you can always choose long-distance non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). Many insurance policies will cover NEMT services for the insured; if not, it’s still relatively affordable and the safest option for travel available.
Filing an Out-of-State or Out-of-Country Insurance Claim
Consider post-injury responsibilities such as making insurance claims once you get home or recuperated enough. The insurance filing system differs slightly if traveling abroad or out of state.
Out-of-state insurance claims aren’t too different; obtaining other information is likely more difficult because it’s far from your home. You’ll probably have to opt for reimbursement for out-of-country health insurance claims. You’ll want to collect all your medical documentation and present it to your insurance provider, including all receipts and bills for out-of-pocket costs.
