Chiropractor After Car Accident

Article Updated: March 1, 2022

Chiropractor After Car Accident

If you have been in an accident and are now wondering why is my lawyer sending me to a chiropractor, the answer lies in how much a chiropractor can help your health and your accident settlement.

Even minor car crashes can result in serious injuries like soft-tissue Injuries, bruises, fractures, broken bones, sprains and strains. Because these injuries are so severe seeing an accident injury chiropractor is advisable.

In this article you will find information on:

♦   Whether you should go to a chiropractor after a car accident

♦   The cost of a chiropractor after a car accident

♦   How long you have to see a chiropractor after a car accident

♦   What injuries a chiropractor can help you with

If your doctor has asked you to see a chiropractor or you are concerned over what a chiropractor does read on below to learn more.

What Does a Chiropractor Do After a Car Accident?

Chiropractor is a word we hear often, but may not know exactly what they do. A chiropractor helps to both assess pain, and evaluate what kinds of treatment you need.

In addition to this, a chiropractor also helps to recommend treatment plans that are based on your specific injuries and health. A chiropractor helps your injuries by offering natural, non-invasive treatment options for all types of injuries.

Chiropractors treat various types of car accident injuries, from broken bones to back pain to whiplash. After prompt chiropractic care the injured person is less likely to experience long-term issues

The chiropractor does this through correcting the body’s alignment and physical functions.

The manipulations and movements that the chiropractor conducts help to address pains in the nervous system, the skeletal system, with the muscles and the ligaments of the body.

What the chiropractor focuses on, which tends to be lower back pain, neck pain, muscle pain, joint pain and headaches, tend to be the exact things that are injured in most accidents.

With the right chiropractor, the treatment is effective in helping back pain and shoulder pain with spinal manipulations and movements.

All in all, a chiropractor’s main job is to help create a customized treatment plan that helps alleviate pain with what can be seen as a intensive and rigorous form of physical therapy.

Which Car Accident Injuries Need a Chiropractor?

Many injuries that you sustain in a car accident can benefit from the help of a chiropractor.

The main reason for this is that the same injuries that a chiropractor treats, are the same ones that are commonly suffered in a car accident.

While there are many different kinds of accidents that you may suffer, and some are not able to be treated with the help of a chiropractor, many others can be helped vastly with this form of medical treatment.

Some common injuries that can benefit from the help of a chiropractor are:

♦   Whiplash

♦   Contusions and Bruises

♦   Neck or Back Pain

♦   Brain and Spinal Injuries

♦   Headaches & Migraines

Many other conditions that are similar to these can also benefit from the help of a chiropractor.

Whether it is a serious case or a minor case, a chiropractor is able to help both pinpoint your pain and also help treat it through a non-invasive process that can help you avoid more serious solutions like life-long medication or even surgery.

Should I See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?

Should I go to a chiropractor after a car accident? That depends, so let’s dig into this question.

A chiropractor can help you in many ways and help you avoid pain, lifelong discomfort and allow you normality that allows you to live your life comfortably again.

Why is a chiropractor so beneficial? One major reason is that unlike a lot of traditional medical treatments after a car accident, a chiropractor offers solutions that are non-invasive and also drug-free.

You have suffered enough pain after a car accident and if there is a way to avoid invasive and painful treatments post-accident, then they should be explored.

A chiropractor can also help you to diagnose your pain and injuries, even when you do not feel pain right away.

Sometimes after an accident, you will feel 100% fine. This does not mean that you are not injured, but rather, it means that due to the adrenaline hormone flowing through your body, you are numb to the pain.

A chiropractor can help to diagnose the inside injuries to your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even skeletal system that maybe you do not feel as of yet, and also let you know if you can benefit from the treatment of a chiropractor.

The chiropractor can give you a physical exam, order x-rays, review your medical history and create a total plan that works for you.

A chiropractor has many other benefits and therefore many reasons that you should see one after an accident including:

♦   Creating a treatment plan that reduce inflammation

♦   Helps to reduce pain in the here and now, and also chronic pain in the future

♦   Ensures you can avoid relying on a drug regimen to deal with pain

♦   Reduces your chances of needing more invasive surgical treatments

Overall, the answer tends to be yes, you should see a chiropractor after a car accident, especially if you feel pain or have injuries in your neck, back, shoulders or head.

Why is My Lawyer Sending Me to a Chiropractor?

Lawyers Send You to Chiropractor to Get Better

Your physical health is only one of the major reasons why your lawyer wants you to see a chiropractor when you have been in an accident.

Yes, the health benefits are a major concern and reason you should see one.

Lawyers Send You to Chiropractor to Document Injuries

However, there are also legal settlement benefits to see a chiropractor as well. A visit to the chiropractor has legal benefits for you because it is a clear, organized and documented set of visits that help document your injuries.  Without that, what will the jury rely on, your daily notes?  How medically credible are those?

Lawyers Send You to Chiropractor Because Insurance Adjusters Need That Evidence

After an accident, the insurance company will work hard to show that your injuries are not that serious and that you do not really need any large settlement.

Your best defense against this is to have proof and documentation that you are indeed injured.

A chiropractor helps to offer a lot of this.

How? The chiropractor offers some services and treatments that help offer this proof, such as:

♦   Radiography/ X-Rays, CT Scans

♦   MRI scanning

♦   Electromyography (EMG)

♦   Diathermy

♦   Hydrotherapy systems

♦   Ultrasound therapy

♦   Laser treatment

♦   Electrical muscular stimulation

These treatments and tests help to show that you really have an injury and that you need therapy to help treat them.

Of course these visits to a chiropractor are not cheap either. The cost of a chiropractor after a car accident can get high when many sessions are needed.

This is not a negative because this commitment to treatment both shows that you really needed help with your recovery, and also helps to add to your settlement value.

Will Going to a Chiropractor help My Settlement?

Going to a chiropractor can help your settlement.

Most injuries that you suffer in a car accident will require multiple doctor visits to truly address the injury.

Chiropractic care provides are well-versed in treating car accident victims and can help to find the best treatment approach for pain and injury to help a person.

Their competency and experience with accident victims can also help to ensure that during the settlement process medical providers with experience are providing evidence that shows the extent of your injuries and backs it up with their experience.

Many injuries in a car accident also take a considerable amount of time to fully recover from.

This means that anywhere from 6-18 months of therapy, treatment and chiropractic help will be needed on average.

Going to an extended period of care with a chiropractor means that you have a verifiable proof that you needed medical help for a long period of time. This helps you in court because it helps to prove that your injury was not something that you just walked away from and did not need any help with.

A car accident settlement amount will ultimately depend on a handful of factors, such as:

♦   Total medical bills

♦   Amount of wages lost

♦   Nature of physical injuries

Going to a chiropractor falls under the total medical bills as well as helping to prove the severity or nature of the physical injuries. Both of these can help to increase your final settlement payout.

One main reason for this is that a chiropractor can document each of your potential liabilities along with the treatment. The chiropractor acts as a sort of expert that attests to your injuries and the severity of your condition.

Chiropractor After Car Accident Settlement Examples

SAMPLE VERDICT (Alabama): $60,000.00  A 44-year old male was sitting in a  vehicle when he was hit from the rear by an uninsured driver who was driving recklessly. The plaintiff suffered cervical strain and brought a suit against the insurance company. Plaintiff stated that the defendant had failed to ensure proper lookout and failed to maintain proper control of his vehicle. The defendant denied all liability. A chiropractor came to the hearing as an expert witness amongst other medical professionals and a verdict of $60,000 was awarded to the plaintiff.

SAMPLE VERDICT (Arizona): $790,780.00  A 50-year old male driver was struck in a T-bone fashion when his vehicle was hit by the defendant who lost control of his car when it slipped on ice when they were turning a corner. The case initially settled with the insurance company for the policy limit. However, the plaintiff later brought a claim stating that the good faith handling of the case was not addressed properly. This led to a verdict of $790,780 was given which included both past and future economic damages as well as non-economic damages which included the cost of a chiropractor who came to the court as an expert witness.

SAMPLE VERDICT/ SETTLEMENT (Connecticut): $25,000.00  A 38-year old female was left with thoracic strains, damaged cervical and lumbar regions when her car was struck from behind by a defendant who was speeding and lost control of his car at the time of the accident. The defendant denied the liability stating that the accident was the result of a third non-party individual in the case. The case ultimately settled for $25,000 after the expert evidence and medical records of multiple physical therapists, chiropractors and medical professionals were submitted.

SAMPLE VERDICT/ SETTLEMENT (Maine): $15,000.00  A female passenger was hit from the rear and suffered both cervical and lumbar strains when her vehicle was hit by a nonparty vehicle that failed to stop his car in time to come to stop at a controlled intersection. The plaintiff filed a claim with the defendant for uninsured/ underinsured coverage and her case was settled with the insurance company for $15,000. The driver of the vehicle was also compensated for their injuries as well.

Chiropractor After Car Accident Q&A

Should I go to a chiropractor after a car accident?

Yes, if you have back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain or any major or even minor discomforts after a car accident, you should go to a chiropractor after you accident. When you see an initial medical care provider, you can ask questions about making this visit and if it is the right choice for you.

What is the Cost of a chiropractor after car accidents?

The cost of a chiropractor after a car accident will vary from region to region as well as with regards to what level of care you need.

Some locations are as low as $40 per visit while some go as high as $200 per visit. These are extreme ends, but you can expect to see an average range of about $60-$80 per visit.

Do I need both physical therapy and to see a chiropractor?

Physical therapy and a chiropractor offer what may seem like the same service, but in reality they are different so you will more than likely need both physical therapy and to see a chiropractor. Usually, you will see a chiropractor to help you with your underlying injuries and pain and then afterwards go to physical therapy to help strengthen your muscles.

How long do I have to see a chiropractor after a car accident?

Ideally, you will make sure to visit a chiropractor as soon as possible after your accident as possible. This will mean within 48-72 hours after your accident in most cases. If you are not able to get to one in this time period, it does not mean that the window is closed and you no longer have the option to see a chiropractor and you can still see one as you need to.

I don’t understand why my doctor is sending me to a chiropractor after my car accident.

The reason your doctor is telling you to see a chiropractor is because they believe this will help with your pain and also help you when it comes time to settle your legal case. Seeing a chiropractor can help strengthen your case because it shows that you have a serious injury that needs assistance from medical professionals.

Get Help Deciding Whether You Should Go to A Chiropractor After a Car Accident

If you have had an accident, and you need intensive therapy including help from a chiropractor, you will need help understanding how your medical care is tied into your legal settlement.

Call, email, or message us at the IAG team using the contact form below for a free consultation 24/7, we are waiting to help you today.

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