As an individual who’s been involved in an unexpected car
accident, whether there’s a clear presence of injury and symptoms or not, one
of the first priorities should be to seek immediate medical treatment. The
second concern includes ensuring those medical bills are paid accordingly. If
the individual decides to seek chiropractic care for their injuries, choosing
the right chiropractor can make a huge difference in the outcome of a personal
injury claim. This can be very important, after all, the money spent on any
type of medical treatment to ultimately heal those injuries is your money, and
therefore, it must be used wisely.
Chiropractic care is an effective, alternative treatment
option for a variety of injuries or conditions surrounding the spine and its
many structures and it can be used to relieve symptoms induced by whiplash as
well as treat injuries to the extremities. When an individual has suffered an injury
as a result of an automobile accident, a personal injury chiropractor can positively
influence the proper progress of their rehabilitation, helping the individual
obtain the fair compensation they need and deserve for their auto injuries. An
experienced and well-trained personal injury chiropractor can provide quality
treatment as well as support patients throughout their injury claim procedures.
There are many qualified providers in the El Paso, Texas area, however, several
important factors should be individually considered before choosing a personal
injury chiropractor to make sure you’re choosing the most appropriate
healthcare provider for your specific type of injuries and claims.
Selecting a Chiropractor
Foremost, when seeking medical care from a specialized
chiropractor after suffering an auto injury, it’s crucial to verify whether the
professional has had previous experience with automobile accident and personal
injury claims. It may also be important if the personal injury chiropractor the
individual has considered getting treatment from has attended post graduate
training in accident injury evaluation and treatment which can guarantee a much
more effective diagnosis and care from them. An added extra to consider is whether
the healthcare provider can do depositions and testify in court. If the
situation comes up, it may be a difficult situation if the doctor one chooses
is not willing to help in this step of the legal process.
Also, you can do some research or directly ask the
chiropractor if they’ve testified in court or previously given depositions for
their patients before. Learn the names of several personal injury attorneys the
doctor has worked with and call them in reference to their relationship with
said healthcare professional you’ve chosen to receive treatment from. A
detailed review of the chiropractor’s services can often greatly help an
individual select the most appropriate provider according to their demands. Likewise,
be mindful of doctors who point you to a personal injury attorney who is found
in a distant location. If your attorney is 180 miles away, maintaining contact
and knowledge of local providers, defense attorneys and courts can widely differ
from what a local attorney may provide you with.
Multiple Attorney Affiliation
When learning the names of attorneys who’ve worked with your
chiropractor, did you notice if they worked closely with multiple attorneys? Some
of the best chiropractors are able to maintain a list of attorneys they know
can deliver quality results to their patients in car accident and personal
injury cases. A doctor that has connections with more than one attorney offers
a wider variety of experienced personal injury claim professionals to choose
from, whom can then better accommodate you to solve your specific case after an
automobile accident.
Proper Medical Protocols and Care
While it’s common knowledge to receive the initial intake
and examination of an individual’s injuries before starting any form of
treatment with a healthcare professional, many personal injury chiropractors
follow a specific protocol for cases involving car accident claims, mainly
involving detailed intake information on the mechanism of injury, biomechanics
and past medical history. A chiropractor who provides a multipage auto accident
injury questionnaire filled with meaningful questions is best in order to be
able to provide the most appropriate and most detailed information regarding your
situation to follow through with proper treatment. A detailed intake
examination can often be a bit time consuming but a chiropractor who provides
this in depth questionnaire displays a positive interest in your case, ensuring
that they have taken the time to know what happened to you and how it directly
affected you. A doctor who has been patient enough to hear your story can have
an adverse impact than those who do not and simply treat the individual, no
questions asked.
Chiropractors & Other Services
After seeking a diagnosis from a chiropractor to follow
through with treatment, the individual should take note if the chiropractor can
provide an X-ray. Not all chiropractors take X-rays but many of the best can
refer patients who need these services to state of the arts centers with well-trained
radiologist who specialize in providing X-rays. If your healthcare provider
does take x-rays, they should be able to show you the results and properly
describe and demonstrate the areas of damage or injury. The X-rays should be
clear enough for the individual to be able to understand their own injuries
when explained by their personal injury chiropractor. In case of serious spinal
damage, a proper chiropractor should refer you out for special studies.
The chiropractor you choose should work with other
specialists to provide a full range of treatments to speed up your recovery
process.
Treatment Plans
Make sure your chiropractor doesn’t offer treatment plan
contracts. Proper treatment protocol requires re-evaluations regularly and
adjustment of treatment accordingly. If you are asked to sign a contract for a
specific treatment plan, read through the provided paperwork carefully and if
the offer doesn’t best accommodate your needs, find another doctor who won’t
offer a treatment plan contract.
Know your Body
Once you’ve begun treatment with a personal injury
chiropractor considering the above information, you should also be constantly
aware whether you’re receiving the proper care throughout your determined
rehabilitation treatment plan. Plenty of time and patience is often required to
eliminate symptoms of pain and discomfort resulting from many types of auto
injuries, but if after the regular re-evaluations and several treatment
adjustments, you continue to experience ongoing pain again and again, don’t
continue treatment unless you have been referred to a specialist for further
testing. Severe pain or numbness in the arms or legs or severe headaches, among
other more serious symptoms that don’t improve after a prolonged period of time
may be signaling the need for another healthcare professional. Good
chiropractors should not hesitate to refer you to someone outside their specialty
area.
Most importantly, don’t continue treatment with a doctor who
doesn’t talk to you. Every visit should include a minimum of two minutes with
the chiropractor to discuss your current symptoms and progress. Many doctors
keep record of the rehabilitation process in chart notes. Always make sure you agree
with the results written down in the chart notes and with what the doctor is
saying about your health in terms of the improvement. As a valuable patient, you
need to be aware of your improvements as well and the doctor of your choice
should be able to provide you with that information regularly.
Along with being aware of the progress of your treatment,
you can also request to see your bills and this step can be very important once
you’ve chosen a personal injury chiropractor as it can help ensure that the
doctor is truly concerned about your overall wellness. In addition, make sure
your personal injury protection coverage doesn’t run out before you’ve
completed treatment to avoid unnecessary bills past your target budget, after
all, if you need outside referral having something left in your PIP account is
essential. Often the patient can still have significant symptoms from their
automobile injuries but have no more money for further treatment and may end up
owing a balance to the chiropractor.
Recovering from Auto Injuries
Your choice of the proper treating physicians can make a big
difference in the outcome of your case, both the quality of your health and the
recovery for your damages. Following the above recommendations and researching
plenty can ultimately help an individual make the right decision when choosing the
best, most appropriate personal injury chiropractor to treat their injuries or
condition resulting from an undesired automobile accident. Fortunately, many
qualified personal injury chiropractors can be found around your local area,
willing to take the time for your case to help you heal accordingly.
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
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Dr. Alex Jimenez is a chiropractor at Injury Medical Clinic
that offers a variety of treatments, including spinal adjustments, to care for
numerous injuries and conditions focused on the spine, offering several
appropriate treatments for an individual’s needs and preferences.