Bakersfield car accident victims can have hospital bills and chiropractor expenses come due just weeks after a collision. If a careless driver caused the impact, the driver’s car insurance company should be covering every penny of rehab costs.
Chiropractic treatment can be covered by car insurance settlements. Some chiropractors will even delay billing for their care until victims receive the settlement money they desperately need.
Pain Relief and Financial Relief from a Chiropractor
Car accident victims may be released from a Bakersfield ER with a cast or perhaps on crutches. The wound may heal, but the pain and stiffness can linger. It’s why many doctors refer patients to a local chiropractor.
A Chiropractor is a medically licensed clinician who provides care that’s non-invasive and not based on prescription drugs. Chiropractors use hands-on therapies to bring relief to the muscles and bones and to hopefully reduce pain.
The Southern California University of Health Sciences points to these chiropractic benefits for car accident victims:
- Relief from back pain
- Relief from neck strains and whiplash
- Flexibility restoration in injured limbs and joints
- Reduction of tightness in muscles
- General pain relief
- Headache relief
- Nerve pain relief
- Nutrition plans to promote healing
Are Chiropractor Bills Covered in Car Insurance Settlements?
Yes, in many cases. As long as your doctor deems chiropractic services medically necessary, car insurance companies would need to cover the costs. Doctors may recommend it if a broken bone or a back or neck injury still causes you problems, but surgery likely wouldn’t help.
But even when car insurance companies will cover physical therapy and chiropractic treatment, it doesn’t mean it’ll happen fast. Patients who are in pain and can’t work to earn a paycheck often have to wait months for a settlement check. Meanwhile, doctor bills and therapy bills start to stack up. It puts victims in an anxious situation as they struggle to pay even normal bills like car payments and rent.
A skilled Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer can take action to protect clients and their finances.
- Working on Medical Liens. Doctors and chiropractors who are compassionate towards accident victims will often agree to delay asking for payment. Under a medical lien, they are paid only once the patient has received a car insurance settlement. Maison Law can help patients find these types of practitioners who will put off billing injured victims.
- Reducing Medical Debt. Maison Law can also negotiate with healthcare providers to get payments reduced when they finally come due. This is also possible when dealing with health insurance companies who look for reimbursement for the care they’ve paid for once victims receive settlements. They want to be repaid through a process known as subrogation. A skilled lawyer can even negotiate to get that repayment total reduced.
- Forcing Car Insurance Companies to Pay Out. Lawyers also go after car insurers who purposely make accident victims wait for support. A lawyer can report victims to the state and also reach those in leadership at insurance companies to get the process rolling. The evidence that lawyers collect also helps put insurers in a corner, forcing them to accept blame and write a check.
- No Upfront Costs for a Lawyer. Maison Law knows that many car accident victims can’t afford to pay a lawyer at such a difficult time. That’s why, if you need us, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay an attorney. We work on behalf of clients with no upfront costs. We are only paid if your case is won. Then our fee comes out of a settlement check the car insurance company must write.
What Is an Injury Claim Worth?
Patients may not be able to get an accurate estimate of what they may earn until they’ve talked to an attorney and revealed everything they’ve been through.
The severity of the injury and how long they are under a doctor’s supervision play a big role in how much they’ll need to ask for.
The totals on chiropractic sessions would also be a part of the request for damages. That might add up to $300 for an initial visit and around $100 per adjustment. Plus the cost of X-Rays. That might be multiple weeks and multiple sessions a week.
And of course, the hardships for patients with serious injuries go much further than medical bills. It’s why a California car accident lawyer would be aggressive in securing benefits for these and other hardships:
- All hospital bills, ambulance fees, and surgical fees
- Replacement of any job income and benefits victims have missed and will miss
- Travel costs going to doctor’s appointments and chiropractic sessions
- Support for the physical pain victims endure in accidents and during each day of rehab
- Support for the emotional toll a collision and a difficult recovery take on the victim
- Money for car repairs or a new vehicle
Contact a Bakersfield Car Accident Attorney
Maison Law offers free case reviews to all injured Kern County car accident victims and their families. It’s a chance to figure out what your aches and pains, and worse, should be worth. We want you to heal with the assurance that every medical bill that results will be an insurance company’s responsibility.
