With car accidents happening every day in the United States, the likelihood of you being involved in one is high.
Fortunately, many accidents are fender benders that are easily forgotten about.
Other accidents, however, have catastrophic and even fatal outcomes.
After accidents, your adrenaline will be pumping, and you likely won't feel the effects of the accident right away.
But once you've started to settle, and you've put some time between yourself and the accident, symptoms will start appearing.
Many people ask How long will I be sore after a car accident?
Many times these types of injuries are soft tissue injuries, like whiplash or back injuries.
Fortunately, these types of injuries can be treated by a car accident chiropractor.
Like any other form of healthcare, the cost of chiropractic care after an accident can add up quickly.
And if another driver's negligence caused your accident, you shouldn't have to pay for the care.
So after a personal injury accident, how are you reimbursed for chiropractic care?
Will a personal injury claim cover chiropractic treatment?
We'll explore that question in the article below.
Table of Contents
Seek Chiropractic Care As Soon As Possible
Proving Your Chiropractic Expenses Are "Reasonably" Necessary
Settle Before Trial
Get the Recovery and Compensation You Deserve
The most important thing you can do after accidents is to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Getting chiropractic treatment soon after a car accident is essential for both your physical recovery as well as your financial recovery.
Even minor accidents that don't seem like a big deal can become significant issues over time if an injury is left untreated.
If you've been injured due to a car accident, a slip and fall, an accident at work, or any other type of personal injury accident, it's vitally important to seek chiropractic care right away.
Even if you aren't in pain right away, it never hurts to see a chiropractor just in case.
It's recommended to see a chiropractor within three days of the accident so your condition doesn't worsen, and so it's easier to prove that your accident caused your injuries.
When you see your chiropractor right away, they can start documenting your injuries so you can be sure you receive compensation to cover your costs.
When you wait too long to receive treatment, the insurance company will likely argue that the accident didn't cause your injuries or that they aren't serious because you waited so long to receive treatment.
The longer you wait to see a chiropractor, the stronger the insurance company's case against you will be.
Seeing a chiropractor as soon as possible will increase your chances of a full recovery as well as receiving total compensation.
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Negligent drivers who cause car accidents will typically pay all reasonably necessary medical expenses for the injured driver.
As the plaintiff, to prove damages in your personal injury case, you will have to submit all of the medical bills you receive.
But, just because you received treatment, even chiropractic treatments, doesn't mean that the jury or insurance companies will consider the treatment necessary.
This is why your chiropractor must keep detailed records of your treatment, including your symptoms, the treatment provided for those symptoms, and the cost of each treatment.
Vague or incomplete records could lead to your treatments not being considered necessary.
If your case is highly contested, you may need to hire an expert witness to testify that the treatment you received was indeed necessary.
But, the defendant will likely hire expert witnesses to testify the opposite.
In the end, it will be up to the insurance company or the jury to decide whether or not your treatments were necessary.
If a jury is skeptical about the necessity of chiropractic treatment, chiropractic expenses cannot be prohibited based on the argument that they are not considered medical expenses.
Chiropractic bills can be high, especially if it takes several months of treatment.
In some cases, a jury or insurance company will decide that some of the chiropractic treatments were necessary and only require the defendant to pay for part of your total bill.
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More often than not, personal injury cases settle long before they make it to trial.
But, if you have ongoing treatments and expenses, it can be challenging to decide when to settle and for how much to settle for.
If you haven't made a full recovery, you should wait before making a settlement.
Once your case settles, there is no going back, no matter what.
Even if you have ongoing treatments that cost more than what you were awarded in the settle, you are left with what you settled for.
If you are still receiving treatment when you settle, and you have yet to reach your maximum potential recovery, your personal injury attorney will likely attempt to negotiate a larger settlement to cover your future medical expenses.
Insurance companies are usually reluctant to increase a settlement amount based on future medical bills.
So, you and your attorney will have to try to wait longer to make a settlement, accept the settlement that was presented, or take your claim to court.
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If you have been injured in an auto accident and need to file a personal injury claim, you need to do all you can to prove that the medical treatment you received was medically necessary.
To do that, you need to work with an experienced accident chiropractor and an experienced personal injury attorney.
The very first thing you need to do after suffering car accident injuries is to see a chiropractor.
That's where Advanced Injury Care comes in.
Advanced Injury Care will help you with your physical recovery and your financial recovery if you were involved in an accident that was someone else’s fault.
To do this, they will provide you with world-class chiropractic treatments and referrals to top personal injury attorneys in your area.
To start your road to recovery after your accident, click the button below to schedule your Free Consultation with Advanced Injury Care.