Many times patients are in accidents which are caused by someone else, so they are reluctant to use their own insurance. They are worried that their insurance rates will go up or that the insurance company will drop their coverage. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have a good driving record and have not made a bunch of claims on your insurance, typically insurance companies are prohibited from raising your rates due to an accident which was not your fault. If they do or threaten to do so, a quick call to the Texas Department of Insurance should take care of it. Keep in mind that you are paying for your insurance and if you don't use it when you need to, then you are just giving your insurance company free money.
The types of insurance coverage you might have, in addition to the state required liability insurance, are PIP (Personal Injury Protection), Med-pay (Medical Payments coverage) and Uninsured Motorist coverage. Uninsured Motorist, UM, coverage is coverage you need if you are injured by an un-insured driver or are injured by a hit-and-run driver. PIP covers medical payments and lost wages. Med-Pay only covers medical payments. If you are not sure if you have any of these, call your insurance company and ask.
If you get injured in a motor vehicle accident and have PIP or Med-Pay, call your insurance company and tell them that you have been injured and are going to the doctor. Also, give your insurance company the names of any others in your car. Finally, give your doctor your insurance information and any claim numbers.
The advantage of using this as well as the other guys insurance is that you simply have that much more coverage so that when you settle with the other guys insurance, there will be that much less that you'll have to use for medical bills and thus, more for your other expenses.
Some things to remember about PIP and Med-Pay: they provide coverage for both the driver and the other people in the car no matter who is at fault and they can apply to ANY motor vehicle accident. In other words, if you are injured in a friends car, you can still use your PIP or Med-Pay insurance.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
I was in a car wreck and my neck is hurting.
More than anything else, when a person walks into the clinic after being in a car wreck, their main complaint is neck pain. This makes perfectly good sense when you consider that your head is about 10 to 15% of your body weight and it is not strapped to the seat like your body. No matter which direction an impact comes from, the head is going to be jerked back and forth in that direction, stretching, straining and possibly tearing the tissues of your neck.
These injuries are nothing to joke about and they are highly complex. There is no "simple" strain when it comes to your neck. Besides the bones of your neck, there are ligaments (seven different ones at each of the seven segments of your neck), joint capsules (highly innervated and thus potentially very painful), para-spinal muscles, spinal nerves and nerves going out to your arms in between each bone, and an intervertebral disc between each bone of the neck which can be damaged or torn resulting in bulging or herniation outward, possibly putting pressure on nerves and even your spinal cord. Simple? I think not.
Besides neck pain, these neck injuries can cause headaches, dizziness, neck stiffness, pain in the upper back and shoulders as well as numbness and tingling in the hands and fingers. Muscle spasms and contractions can extend from the base of the head down to the mid-back and between the shoulder blades.
The doctor will need to examine your neck, possibly take some x-rays to rule out things like bone fractures, bone pathologies, dislocations, and anything else which might be there which could influence or complicate the injury. Sometimes, an MRI is needed to see those structures of the neck which do not show up on x-ray. Treatment usually begins with passive therapies, neck manipulations, as well as exercises and stretches to gradually relax the muscle spasms, restore normal motion and hopefully reduce the formation of scar tissue in the injured tissues and promote healing.
Depending upon the patient's age and medical history, treatment can run from as little as a couple of weeks to a few months. One important thing, the sooner you get to the doctor, the easier it will be to treat your injured neck.
These injuries are nothing to joke about and they are highly complex. There is no "simple" strain when it comes to your neck. Besides the bones of your neck, there are ligaments (seven different ones at each of the seven segments of your neck), joint capsules (highly innervated and thus potentially very painful), para-spinal muscles, spinal nerves and nerves going out to your arms in between each bone, and an intervertebral disc between each bone of the neck which can be damaged or torn resulting in bulging or herniation outward, possibly putting pressure on nerves and even your spinal cord. Simple? I think not.
Besides neck pain, these neck injuries can cause headaches, dizziness, neck stiffness, pain in the upper back and shoulders as well as numbness and tingling in the hands and fingers. Muscle spasms and contractions can extend from the base of the head down to the mid-back and between the shoulder blades.
The doctor will need to examine your neck, possibly take some x-rays to rule out things like bone fractures, bone pathologies, dislocations, and anything else which might be there which could influence or complicate the injury. Sometimes, an MRI is needed to see those structures of the neck which do not show up on x-ray. Treatment usually begins with passive therapies, neck manipulations, as well as exercises and stretches to gradually relax the muscle spasms, restore normal motion and hopefully reduce the formation of scar tissue in the injured tissues and promote healing.
Depending upon the patient's age and medical history, treatment can run from as little as a couple of weeks to a few months. One important thing, the sooner you get to the doctor, the easier it will be to treat your injured neck.
The Hospital Said I am OK But I'm Still Hurting
After an accident, you might and probably should go to the emergency room of your local hospital to get checked for possible life threatening injuries. They might do x-rays to rule out broken bones or CT/MRI's to rule out internal injuries or closed head injuries. But this is just the beginning of the story, especially if you are still hurting.
At this point you might not be in danger of dying but you are likely still in need of treatment which is not performed in an emergency room. Injuries such as those which occur in motor vehicle accidents can become chronic, long lasting problems if not treated properly. That is what clinics like Accident and Injury are for.
The doctors at Accident and Injury will evaluate your injuries and oversee your care. If you are unable to work, the doctor can provide a notice for your employer instructing them to modify your job or that you will be unable to work for a few days. If you are also in need of medication for your pain and inflammation, we can refer you to a medical provider who will evaluate your need and provide prescriptions if needed. In some cases a patient might need to see an orthopedic specialist. Your Accident and Injury doctor will refer you to one who will also work with your attorney so that you can be seen with no out of pocket expense in most cases.
The emergency room is usually just step one in the recovery process when injured.
At this point you might not be in danger of dying but you are likely still in need of treatment which is not performed in an emergency room. Injuries such as those which occur in motor vehicle accidents can become chronic, long lasting problems if not treated properly. That is what clinics like Accident and Injury are for.
The doctors at Accident and Injury will evaluate your injuries and oversee your care. If you are unable to work, the doctor can provide a notice for your employer instructing them to modify your job or that you will be unable to work for a few days. If you are also in need of medication for your pain and inflammation, we can refer you to a medical provider who will evaluate your need and provide prescriptions if needed. In some cases a patient might need to see an orthopedic specialist. Your Accident and Injury doctor will refer you to one who will also work with your attorney so that you can be seen with no out of pocket expense in most cases.
The emergency room is usually just step one in the recovery process when injured.
Do I have to go to the emergency room if I am in an accident?
To get treatment for your injuries it is not necessary to go to the ER. We see many patients who have not gone to the ER first. What we recommend, as well as all other doctors, is that you should go if you feel you have an emergency. Or, if you think you have a head injury or other injuries which might be serious and need immediate attention, definitely go. But going to the ER after an accident is not a requirement to receive care and treatment for your injuries.
After you are seen in the ER, you can come in and see our doctors, get evaluated and receive therapy if needed. If you need to see a specialist, your Accident and Injury doctor can refer you to one. Your Accident and Injury doctor will also request your medical records from the hospital to review and include in your Accident and Injury file.
The bottom line is this; you can go to the ER and also come to us for the rest of your care.
After you are seen in the ER, you can come in and see our doctors, get evaluated and receive therapy if needed. If you need to see a specialist, your Accident and Injury doctor can refer you to one. Your Accident and Injury doctor will also request your medical records from the hospital to review and include in your Accident and Injury file.
The bottom line is this; you can go to the ER and also come to us for the rest of your care.
I've Been Injured in an Accident, Do I need an Attorney?
The answer is an emphatic MAYBE, or in most cases, PROBABLY; especially if you are trying to get another person's car insurance (called third party insurance) to pay your medical bills, pay you for lost wages and cover all the other expenses associated with your injury.
But Why, you ask? The accident was their fault. That's why they have liability insurance; to pay people when they get hurt! (Of course there's no "pay" if you're in an accident, but theoretically, they are responsible for all costs associated with the injury they caused you.) The simple fact of the matter is, they will probably pay for repairs to your car, but all other expenses, especially medical bills, they will not willingly pay for.
But they gave me a claim number! They said they will pay my medical bills! First of all, a claim number is just like file number, it promises to do nothing. And pay medical bills? I've been doing this since 1996 and have yet to see "the other guy's" insurance pay more than a fraction of the medical bills unless an attorney is there to see that they do. And guess who is responsible for unpaid medical bills?
If you are skeptical of getting an attorney and the other guy's insurance has "said" they will pay your medical bills, then ask them to put that in writing. Of course they won't and then you'll see: if they are going to do what they said they would, pay your bills, then they should be willing to put it in writing. Its really that simple. When they won't, then you'll know.
With an attorney, you can get the treatment you need without having to worry about medical bills while you are treating. When your treatment is finished, your attorney will work to get all of your expenses taken care of.
Where do I find an attorney? You can find one on the internet, yellow pages, or get referral from friends. However, I think the BEST source for an attorney referral is the doctor you treat with. We get a lot of feedback from our patients about their attorneys; some good and some not so good. We can refer you to one who our patients think is a good attorney. I would much rather refer you to a good attorney than have you take a chance on one based upon some sensational advertizing. I mean really, who wants an attorney who screams about himself on TV?
But Why, you ask? The accident was their fault. That's why they have liability insurance; to pay people when they get hurt! (Of course there's no "pay" if you're in an accident, but theoretically, they are responsible for all costs associated with the injury they caused you.) The simple fact of the matter is, they will probably pay for repairs to your car, but all other expenses, especially medical bills, they will not willingly pay for.
But they gave me a claim number! They said they will pay my medical bills! First of all, a claim number is just like file number, it promises to do nothing. And pay medical bills? I've been doing this since 1996 and have yet to see "the other guy's" insurance pay more than a fraction of the medical bills unless an attorney is there to see that they do. And guess who is responsible for unpaid medical bills?
If you are skeptical of getting an attorney and the other guy's insurance has "said" they will pay your medical bills, then ask them to put that in writing. Of course they won't and then you'll see: if they are going to do what they said they would, pay your bills, then they should be willing to put it in writing. Its really that simple. When they won't, then you'll know.
With an attorney, you can get the treatment you need without having to worry about medical bills while you are treating. When your treatment is finished, your attorney will work to get all of your expenses taken care of.
Where do I find an attorney? You can find one on the internet, yellow pages, or get referral from friends. However, I think the BEST source for an attorney referral is the doctor you treat with. We get a lot of feedback from our patients about their attorneys; some good and some not so good. We can refer you to one who our patients think is a good attorney. I would much rather refer you to a good attorney than have you take a chance on one based upon some sensational advertizing. I mean really, who wants an attorney who screams about himself on TV?
I've Been Injured in an Accident, What Do I do?
So you're hurt and not sure what to do next. First things first, if you are hurting and have what you feel are severe injuries, a head injury or lacerations, go to the ER. In fact, its a good idea to go to an emergency room initially anyway, just to make sure. They can rule out life threatening conditions and possibly give you something for pain if they feel that you need it.
But then what? At that point, if you are still hurting, you should get to a doctor like the ones at Accident and Injury Chiropractic. The emergency room gave you emergency treatment, but to be able to heal properly, you need to be evaluated and will possibly need some sort of therapy for your condition. Some hospital emergency rooms actually recommend to their patients to see a doctor of chiropractic for the remainder of their care.
When you come in to see the Accident and Injury doctor, he will get a complete medical history, perform an exam, possibly shoot x-rays and formulate a treatment plan for your injuries. As you treat, your doctor will see you each day that you come in for therapy. He or she will monitor your progress and guide you in your treatment as needed.
The doctors at Accident and Injury can also help you with things like insurance and bills. Its complicated and they can explain how that is taken care of so that hopefully, you won't have any out of pocket expenses. But remember, the number one thing to do is get to the doctor as soon as possible. The longer you delay, the more difficult it will be to treat your injury effectively.
But then what? At that point, if you are still hurting, you should get to a doctor like the ones at Accident and Injury Chiropractic. The emergency room gave you emergency treatment, but to be able to heal properly, you need to be evaluated and will possibly need some sort of therapy for your condition. Some hospital emergency rooms actually recommend to their patients to see a doctor of chiropractic for the remainder of their care.
When you come in to see the Accident and Injury doctor, he will get a complete medical history, perform an exam, possibly shoot x-rays and formulate a treatment plan for your injuries. As you treat, your doctor will see you each day that you come in for therapy. He or she will monitor your progress and guide you in your treatment as needed.
The doctors at Accident and Injury can also help you with things like insurance and bills. Its complicated and they can explain how that is taken care of so that hopefully, you won't have any out of pocket expenses. But remember, the number one thing to do is get to the doctor as soon as possible. The longer you delay, the more difficult it will be to treat your injury effectively.
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