Category: Auto Accidents

Importance of Going to Reputable Doctors After a Car Wreck

A few of the main reasons it is crucial to get an honest reputable doctor when dealing with getting compensation for medical bills after a wreck is that a doctor who is dishonest might:

Falsify Reports: For instance, your doctor might put in his daily report on your treatment that you are getting better to make him look like he is actually treating you successfully. I personally encountered this where I told the doctor I was experiencing a pain level of 7 and he reported that I said a 5. This could come back to haunt you when attempting to reach a settlement, because if an official doctor’s report says you are better, your word that you are still in pain is not taken seriously.

TIP: ALWAYS CHECK WHAT THE DOCTOR’S REPORT SAYS. ASK FOR A COPY EVERY NOW AND THEN. IT IS YOUR RIGHT!

Rack-up Medical Bills: Simply because a doctor knows that you are not self-pay and an insurance company is paying, they will try to get the most out of the situation. This may include charging for services never rendered or giving you too much treatment that is not really beneficial to your health like seeing you five times a week instead of three.

TIP: BE THE CONCERNED PATIENT & ASK WHY YOU ARE RECEIVING A CERTAIN COURSE OF TREATMENT.

If something like this were to happen your insurance company may refuse to pay and stick you will the bills or they make attempt to call the doctor behind your back to negotiate you bill which makes for a very uncomfortable situation when you to go back and see this doctor.

If the doctor is unethical he/she may be passive aggressive about the occurrence which could lead to mistreatment or loss of medical records as in my case. So even though you are not paying your bills, it is a good idea to keep up-to-date on what services and products your doctor is charging you.

Won Treat Need Properly: When all you might need is a few minor services or medications your doctor may order un-needed expensive tests which are not conducive to your health.

Waist of Time and Money: If your doctor is not concerned about your health and doesn’t listen to your pain, then you are loosing out on a small window of opportunity in which you are more susceptible to achieving a full recovery. This is something no amount of money can compensate for. Only go to a doctor who listens to you and is willing to treat your need and not his/her needs.

TIP: IF SOMETHING IS FISHY ABOUT THE WAY DOCTOR IS TREATING YOU, MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR ALL MEDICAL RECORDS BEFORE ACTUALLY DISCONTINUING SERVICE, BECAUSE AFTER YOU ARE NO LONGER A PATIENT THEY WILL NOT BE AS WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU.

How to Communicate with an Insurance Adjuster After a Auto Accident

If you chose not to continue to deal with an insurance adjuster on your own and not get a lawyer, you have a couple of resources to resort to:

(1) Call their manager directly. Don’t just say you will call them or threaten with this, because words will NOT help you much. Speak with action. Call the manager and ask him/her to call you back on their office’s expense. Discussing the situation with the manager will upset your adjuster, which will probably NOT help much, but let’s face – they will continue to treat you in this way, so at least for now you will have the upper hand.

(2) Described your situation in a brief 1-2 page complaint and submit to your State Insurance Commissioner’s Office. While they cannot pressure your insurance for a settlement, they are obligated by law to register your complaint, contact you back and force the manager of your insurance’s local office to contact you and discuss your case. Again, this may not help you much, but it does help public records. If every mistreated customer files a complaint, the insurance will eventually have to deal with the State Insurance Commissioner on a higher level.

3 Secret Effects of Whiplash Type Injuries

This following is based on a TRUE STORY, but is only a personal perspective from a REAL person after a REAL auto accident:

Whiplash is a tricky thing.  After you have been in a car accident, you check yourself; you look good, no broken bones, no brushes, no bleeding, and you say to self, “self, I’m okay”.  And in the moment you are okay, because your pain is masked by the overwhelming rush of adrenaline that is going through your body after such a trauma.  And yes, even though you may have been in only a minor finder bender, you have gone through a trauma.  Our bodies were not intended to be jerked around like so.

Then what happens with whiplash is you wake up the next day and are a little bit stiffness in your body and you try to convince yourself this is natural and you take a minor pain reliever.  The medication is now the thing that is masking your problem and you say to yourself, “self, I’m okay”.  You are embarrassed to make a big deal out of a non-obvious problem and try to convenience yourself it does not exist.

So, by the time you actually recognize you have a problem and go to a doctor, the x-ray show you have lost the natural curve in your neck and your spine is off-line.  And of course you think no big deal and your doctor says give me 3-5 weeks and you will be fully recovered.  Yes, you will feel okay because of being under current treatment and your alignment will look better, but for some reason you will never fully recover.  When the treatment stops, your pain comes back.  It can also come back accompanied with numbness, migraines and other problems you would never imagine.  Then years down the road your problem with your loss of curve in your neck becomes so bad, your bones start to fuse together and surgery is the only relief you find.

And the trick here is that you have already signed a general release with the insurance company and you are stuck with a life time of pain, suffering, loss of life, and medical bills after medical bills.

CLICK HERE TO SEE CHART OF WHIPLASH INJURY:  PHYSIOPEDIA.COM

What Type of Doctor Should I See After A Minor Accident?

The first thing to do is immediately after an accident is without hesitation, go directly to the emergency room. If an ambulance is not called, then have a friend take you. If you take yourself, then the legitimacy of your physical injuries might be questioned.

While you are at the ER, be sure that you actually get to see a doctor and not just a physician assistant. If X-rays are not taken, request them without being stuck up or bossy. Also, be aware that you will be treated differently due to that most ER personal will not want to get personally involved in your case so to avoid a legal case associated with most auto accidents. So, having said this, you sometimes have to be insistent with your treatment because you may have a serious injury that could be overlooked.

The next thing to do would be to follow the recommendation of the ER physician who will more than likely tell you that if you are not feeling better within the following “x” days, you should see your personal physician.

Regardless of whether you have a personal physician you should make sure you see an MD as opposed to an OD or chiropractor whom are not taken as seriously by insurance companies. However, this is not to say that after you see an MD you cannot go to a chiropractor. If possible and you are suffering with a soft tissue damage and have intentions of going to a chiropractor, get your MD to recommend one to you so this conversation will go in your medical records. This will come in handy in the future when the insurance company attempts to say they will not pay because you are not seeing an MD or physical therapist.

What Do I Do After I Have Been In an Auto Accident?

1. Make sure you are okay. Your health is first priority.

2. Call the police so there can be an official report – remember if the wreck is honestly not your fault do not say you’re sorry or this could latter be understood as fault.

3. Take a quick picture with your phone – even if a car has come to a stop and the driver gets out they sometimes freak out and still leave the scene.

4. Exchange info making sure they are who they say they are. Ask for a drivers licence and not just take their word that they are “John Doe”. If they are illegal or a criminal at large, they don’t want you to have their real identity and may give you the name of whom the car they are driving is registered to for example. Also, if they give you a cell number, make sure you call it and it rings the phone if their possession.

5. Take more pictures. It is always funny that if you have plenty of pictures of the damages, the insurance company never needs them, but if you don’t have pictures they are all the sudden a must.

6. Stay on the scene until you are allowed to seek medical attention. It is always the best policy to get checked out just in case because of all the emotions and adrenale going through your system.

What to Do After a Car Wreck, Even If It Was a Minor Accident?

If you are in a car wreck, even if it is a minor accident:

(1) Call 911 immediately if you can. If you cannot, have someone else call them and request the police and an ambulance. You cannot be too careful.

You may think you are okay at the moment. The adrenalin rush you have experienced with the car wreck can minimize your level of pain. But the reality is you are NOT OKAY. Minor car wrecks, even at speeds of 15-25 mph cause tension in your body, which you DO NOT experience under any normal circumstances in your life. Even minor whiplash type injuries which appear insignificant can cause permit damage. Continue reading What to Do After a Car Wreck, Even If It Was a Minor Accident?

Do I Need to Call an Ambulance After a Car Wreck?

If you do not have immediate proof that you were injured, which is documented in a police report and the fact that an ambulance was called to your accident, this can be damaging to your case as the opposing counsel may attempt to show that your injuries occurred after and not as a direct result of the wreck. Sounds unreal? Well, this is what happened to me! Continue reading Do I Need to Call an Ambulance After a Car Wreck?

Occupy Nationwide

I am not a lawyer and I am not a medical expert, but I did spend eight long years fighting my own insurance company in person, in mediation and in court, because an uninsured motorist hit us from behind injuring both myself and my passenger and totaling our vehicle. I won my case against the insurance and this victory is a matter of public record, which anyone can check and consider that if you were in a car accident, which was NOT your fault, you will beat any insurance in court. How can you do this, is the subject of this website. Follow these links for questions on: car accidents | adjusters | lawyers | courts.

I hope this website is helpful to you and I hope you win. Godspeed!

Litigate or Mediate? The Truth About Going To Trial

Years after our case with Nationwide was settle it was brought to my attention again the reasoning behind some of Nationwide’s tactics. Namely the very aggressive attempts to settle the case in mediation and NOT going to trail. So the reasoning for this is because when this happens with an OUT OF COURT settlement, it is OFF the books. And it’s like nothing happened. The insurance company gets off the hook and they don’t have to admit their mistake on public record. So next time you are pressured by both lawyers (meaning yours as well) to settle with a mediator and you feel something is not right, trust you gut instinct. If you are not being treated right, take the extra steps and go to trail if needed. This is your right to have your day in court. The outcome of the case may not be much different, but their is a justice in knowing you have done the right thing and brought the accountable ones into the light.

4 Things You Can’t Claim on the Witness Stand

1. You were not allowed to say how your insurance unfairly treated you even if this was the reason you did not seek treatment for your injuries in the first place.

2. You can’t say that the insurance adjuster was unfair in dealing with your case and was not even offering a settlement that would cover only your medical bills and not to mention any pain an suffering or loss of wages.

3. Unless presented to the court prior to a certain date, you are not allowed to say the exact total of your recently incurred medical expenses. You were only allowed to claim what had been presented to the court by your lawyer and if they are not advising you correctly this is the reason for a lower settlement amount. The jury can only reward you money for the recovered damages that they are aware of. In my personal experienced over $20,000 worth of medical expenses were not properly presented before trail.

4. You are not allowed to account for what any doctors told you. The opposing counsel will object stating that you are not an expert witness. To get around this, just re-word your testimony by instead of saying “the doctor said” to “after the wreck I had …”.