Auto Accident Chiropractor

Beyond major injuries like broken bones and head trauma, there are many other conditions a car crash victim can experience, some of which can be treated by an auto accident chiropractor. Post-car accident chiropractic care may be able to help reduce pain, prevent scarring and inflammation, and help ease a host of other ailments. Of course, it's highly advisable to seek treatment from your primary physician, urgent care, or an emergency room first if you don't know the extent of your injuries. However, even after getting checked out by a doctor, you may still benefit from chiropractic treatment.
 
If your pain or injuries are due to a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you may also be entitled to compensation, which could cover the expenses of chiropractic treatments. Contact Morgan & Morgan, the largest personal injury firm in the nation, for a free, no-obligation case evaluation to learn more about your legal options.

Ideally, it would be best if you got treatment as soon as possible following a car accident, both to relieve pain and to strengthen your chances of a successful insurance settlement. Here is a rundown of chiropractic treatment benefits and how to best handle an insurance claim after a car accident that wasn't your fault.

How Can a Chiropractor Can Help After a Car Accident?

Chiropractic care may help with the realignment of your spine after suffering whiplash or other painful auto accident-related injuries. This type of treatment is often recommended to individuals to reduce pain and promote healing. Here is a list of potential advantages you can expect from chiropractic treatment following an auto accident.

Reducing inflammation - Swelling is the body's natural reaction to injury. After an injury to a body part, white blood cells are sent to the area to begin the healing process, but the extra blood flow can cause heat, redness, swelling, and pain. This natural reaction is the body's way of deterring continued use of the body part and, thus, further injury. However, sometimes the body's response overdoes it, which can be harmful and excessively painful. Chiropractic manipulation of the spine to realign the spinal cord attempts to encourage the body to reduce the inflammatory response.

Generally, when inflammation is causing back pain, you'll feel it most in the morning when waking up. Symptoms include stiffness and pain that intensifies after periods of inactivity, such as sleeping.  

Relieving pain - Chiropractic treatment is most frequently linked to pain relief and is often recommended before undergoing more invasive treatments like surgery. The point of chiropractic care is to isolate the origin of the pain and relieve the pressure that is causing it. Your chiropractor may achieve this by applying manipulation to the vertebrae in your spine, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. When the joints and surrounding soft tissues are correctly aligned, the pressure on nerves is reduced, and subsequently, pain is lowered.
 
While your doctor may prescribe pain medication initially following a car accident, the long-term side effects of such drugs can be dangerous. For example, ibuprofen can cause kidney problems, and acetaminophen can impair liver and pancreatic function if taken too long. The use of opioids can lead to addiction and even death from overdose. Surgery for back pain is costly, statistically results in few success stories, and requires a lengthy recovery. On the other hand, chiropractic treatment aims to cure the root cause of the pain through all-natural, non-invasive means and ultimately eliminate it.  

Restoring range of motion - Car accident injuries can result in pain, stiffness, and swelling, which can impact your flexibility and range of motion. The result is often a downward spiral because you may start to avoid certain activities that cause pain. Without physical activity, the affected muscles and joints begin to stiffen, and scar tissue can form, advancing mobility issues. Chiropractic care works toward reducing pain and restoring range of motion and flexibility through spinal adjustments and manipulation of adjoining muscles and tissues.

Reducing scar tissue - After an injury, the body attempts to heal damaged tendons and muscles with collagen, which results in the formation of scar tissue. These tissues may function like normal tissues, but in some cases, scar tissue causes stiffness and long-term pain. Chiropractors may use several techniques to break down scar tissue to promote free movement in the affected area. Some examples include therapeutic massage, the use of pulsating instruments, and trigger point therapy.

What Specific Injuries Does an Auto Accident Chiropractor Treat?

Generally, chiropractors treat various injuries caused by auto accidents, such as whiplash, herniated discs, and soft tissue injuries. Ironically, many car accident injuries are the result of the seatbelt. While it may have saved your life, a seatbelt is designed to halt the movement of your body during a car crash, which is why you could suffer an injury even if the accident were minor. While a seatbelt will stop your body from moving, it doesn't stop internal organs, the neck, and your body's extremities from moving, which can cause misalignment of tendons, vertebrae, and joints.

Whiplash - Whiplash is an injury to the neck when the head moves forcefully back and forth, as is often the case in a car accident. Most commonly, whiplash is the result of rear-end collisions. While it can resolve on its own in a few weeks, it is a very painful injury that can impede your ability to work and perform normal daily functions. However, some people can suffer long-lasting issues from this injury. A bad case of whiplash can also affect bones in the spine, discs, ligaments, muscles, and nerves.

Generally, the higher the speed at which you were hit, the more severe the injury. It can be significantly worse if you've had whiplash previously, are an older adult, or had existing back and neck pain before the accident. The sudden jolt of a car crash causes the ligaments and muscles of the neck to become overly stretched and may even tear as a result. Common symptoms include the following:

• Neck pain and stiffness, especially when moving the neck
• Loss of range of movement in the neck, such as difficulty moving the head up or down or side to side.
• Soreness and tenderness in the shoulders, back, or upper arms
• Headaches that start at the base of the skull and move outward
• Blurry vision, dizziness, or ringing of the ears
• Tingling or numbness in the arms or hands

Understanding that some of these symptoms can indicate a more serious problem, such as spinal cord damage or a traumatic brain injury, is crucial. It's best to consult a physician as well as a chiropractor for these symptoms. It's also important to note that whiplash can cause serious complications such as disc degeneration, chronic neck pain, and restricted movement if left untreated.

Joint injuries - Knees, ankles, and elbows can be knocked around in a collision, and impacts cause vertebral compression and ruptures, which may result in pain, nerve irritation, and inflammation. Joint pain is caused when the ends of the bones that form the joint are moved from their original position. During an accident, the socket lining, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons can be weakened, stretched, and even torn.

Symptoms of joint injuries include the following:

• Acute pain and discomfort
• Swelling and bruising
• Joint tenderness
• Numbness and tingling sensations
• Abnormal sounds in the joints, such as cracking and popping noises

If left untreated, joint injuries can result in loss of range of motion, damage to nerve tissue and blood vessels, the likelihood of repeat dislocations, and permanent joint instability requiring surgery.

Back injuries - While whiplash can cause back pain, herniated discs, and soft tissue injuries are also significant factors. A sudden forceful impact causes strain on the spine. If a disc is misplaced, it can bulge out of place or even rupture, resulting in pressure on the surrounding spinal nerves and causing substantial pain. Likewise, you could suffer from fractured vertebrae or back sprains and strains. An auto accident chiropractor will do a comprehensive physical exam and run tests to isolate the issue and develop a treatment regimen.

Who Pays for Chiropractic Care After a Car Accident?

If another driver caused your accident, their insurance might cover chiropractic care, but you still must prove the driver was at fault and that you sustained an injury that warranted the care. Morgan and Morgan can help on both fronts. While insurance companies know that medical care is a normal expense, it helps to keep track of the symptoms that led you to seek care, the treatments received, and all receipts linked to the car accident. We will work with your chiropractor to understand your diagnosis, pain and suffering, and treatment plan.
You may require ongoing chiropractic treatment, which we will make sure is calculated into the damages.

It's essential that after you've received a diagnosis and treatment plan, you keep up with your appointments, as any lapse in treatment can hurt your case. From the insurance company's point of view, they will take it as evidence that your injuries are not as severe as you make them out to be.

Is a Car Accident Lawyer Really Necessary to Recover Chiropractor Expenses?

Generally, the at-fault party will be responsible for covering all medical expenses. Still, the clincher is the treatment must be reasonably medically necessary. A car accident lawyer can help to clarify the treatment and expenses to make a compelling argument as to the necessity of the treatment to recover from your injuries fully.

A car accident lawyer can also explain to a jury that while they may have personal misgivings about the efficacy of chiropractic care, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be covered under medical expenses. Since regular chiropractic care can be pricey, they may also persuade a jury that the defendant should be responsible for all care, not just what an insurance company deems a reasonable amount of care.

Still, most car accident claims are settled outside of court. Your Morgan and Morgan attorney will work hard to get all or at least most of your chiropractic expenses included in the settlement.
Suppose you've been injured in a car accident recently and are considering going to a chiropractor. In that case, we urge you to reach out to us to discuss your case. You may be entitled to collect compensation for your medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, and more. It's important to understand that you have legal rights. We can review the facts of your car accident to help determine if legal action is justified.

When you work with Morgan and Morgan, you have the power of one of the nation's largest law firms on your side, with an extensive track record of success. In fact, we've recovered more than $20 billion for clients over the course of our long history. When someone else's negligence causes you harm, you shouldn't be the one paying for the expenses. We can help.

Not every auto accident victim will need an attorney—however, those who do typically get their claims approved and are offered higher settlements. Suppose you try to negotiate a settlement on your own. In that case, insurance companies usually offer the bare minimum to see if you bite. By the time bills come rolling in, you might be tempted to settle since no one needs that added pressure when trying to recover from auto accident injuries. The problem is that insurance companies expect this. They might even delay an offer until you start panicking, then they have your right where they want you, easy to take advantage of in your vulnerable state. We don't let that happen.

You don't have to fight for reimbursement on your own. If we take your case, you can expect first-rate legal counsel and the quickest resolution possible. Contact us today for your free case evaluation. You deserve compensation when another person's negligent actions lead to your injury and losses.