Grand Canyon Chiropractic
Personal Injury and Car Accidents - How it works
Car Accidents and Personal Injury claims differ slightly in treatment and procedures from standard health insurance cases because of the additional goal of financial award and responsibility.
We accept qualified car accident cases on lien! This means you can get treated without having to pay out-of-pocket. We will send the treatment bill to the auto insurance or attorney for payment once your treatment is done.
What is a qualified case?
If the accident was NOT your fault, then whoever hit you or caused the accident should be responsible for your care and compensation. The ability for that person to compensate you will primarily depend on his/her insurance coverage and your own auto policy.
or
If the accident was unfortunately ruled against you, you can still receive treatment if your auto insurance has medpay coverage. Medpay coverage is an option that pays health expenses occured in an accident regardless of who's at fault and does not affect your premium if utilized. So whether it's someone else's fault or your fault, medpay covers your expenses period. It's basically health insurance sold by auto insurance companies but only covers expenses caused by car accidents.
What you need to bring in on your first day:
1. Copy of Police Report
2. Your Auto Insurance Declarations page- this is the letter/document you receive from your auto insurance stating what coverages you have. eg. 25000/50000 liability, comprehensive, collision deductibles etc.
3. Your Health insurance card if you have health insurance
4. Contact Name of Claims Agent assisting you with claim and claim number.
5. The other party's insurance information if you have it
6. Lawyer name and contact info if you already have an attorney (you usually don't need an attorney, but if you do need one we have several reputable and very competent attorneys we can refer you to).
7. Auto insurance policies for family members living with you under the same roof. In certain states the uninsured/underinsured policies can be stacked which increases the amount of funds available should the party at fault not have enough coverage.
How Does Personal Injury (PI) work?
Car accident cases are commonly referred as PI cases - personal injury cases. Personal Injury cases (PI) are treated slightly differently than a standard medical insurance patients with pain. PI cases have 2 goals: financial reward and medical necessity.
Financial Rewards - claims for pain, loss and suffering:
Often you see many commercials on television from attorneys advertising that if you're involved in an auto accident, you may be entitled to a settlement. With auto accident cases, patients can claim 'pain, loss and suffering' and ask for a cash award from the party at fault. This award is determined by criteria such as but not limited to the cost of all medical bills, wages loss from work and expenses incurred because of the accident. How badly the vehicles were damaged and their resulting repair bills (property damage) can also determine the amount of the settlement.
Medical Necessity:
After an impact, our goal is to relieve pain and restore range of motion and function. Unfortunately symptoms after a car accident vary depending on factors such as severity of the impact, direction, location etc. There are also long term chronic symptoms associated with injuries such as whiplash and fractures. The doctor's primary goal is always to give the best care possible to relieve pain and restore function. With auto accident cases, treatment plans are sometimes influenced by financial considerations of the insurance companies particularly when there is little coverage or minimal coverage. We will always try to work with the patient to deliver and recommend the best care and utilize other means of coverage such as health insurance if available.
With auto accidents, it is important to:
1. Follow the doctors treatment plan. When it comes to substantiating your condition and case, insurance companies look to see if you follow the treatment plans. If you receive treatment sporadically with gaps in between rehabilitation, insurers may conclude the injuries were not as extensive because if you were hurt, you would be getting treatment to relieve the pain.
2. Document all injuries and loss. Pictures are worth 1000 words. Make sure you keep all receipts and records from any treatment received. In severe cases, progress and treatment must be meticulously recorded.
3. Ask for legal assistance if you are unsure on how to proceed. If insurance companies ask you about your injuries and case, it is best to defer any questions to your treating doctor. Often patients involved in collisions may make statements that insurers record in telephone conversations to limit the value of the case. If you are being treated, let your doctor answer the questions on your health, injuries and treatment. Remember, insurance companies are primarily for profit businesses. It is in their interest to reduce or deny claims if they can justify the circumstances.
4. Ask questions. If you aren't sure of something or need facts to help you decide what to do, please ask us.
At our clinics, we work with auto insurances to provide all necessary care. If a patient needs help with the financial aspects of the case, we can recommend legal aid. Please contact us for a free consultation about your accident.