If I already have a chiropractor, do I need an attorney?

After an accident, you are probably just trying to get healthy and get your life back on track. If you already have a chiropractor it is natural to trust that person for this new injury. A good relationship with your doctor is important for recovering and staying healthy. Study on this subject shows that when you feel comfortable talking with your doctor about your treatment, you “do better biologically, in quality of life, and have higher satisfaction.” So, of course it makes sense to treat with a doctor you trust.

Yes, if you already have a chiropractor, getting an attorney protects you legally and financially.

Accident injuries can become much more difficult in terms of record keeping requirements, resolving who gets paid, and making sure the insurance compensates you appropriately. That’s where having an attorney work with your current chiropractor gives you more protection.

Could you get unexpected bills down the line?

If you already are seeing a chiropractor, getting an attorney can help protect you against unexpected bills. Because of the right to subrogation, health insurance companies treat accident injuries differently. If someone negligently caused your injury, your health insurance says “why should we have to pay this? This wasn’t our client’s fault. We could not predict this cost when assigning the rate they pay!” So, if your health insurance has a right to subrogation, they want to get repaid.

That makes sense, but it can become an unexpected hardship to you if you have already been paid a settlement and used up that money. Suddenly you’re responsible for paying back the money your insurance paid for your care out of pocket! And it’s not just the chiropractor, but also the emergency room you went to, the physicians, and the bill of the diagnostician that read the x-rays. It could be for any other accident related treatment your health insurance covered.

An attorney can make sure no one comes back for more after your settlement.

If you already have a chiropractor, getting an attorney can help manage all of your medical billing. The attorney and chiropractor will work out the best way to make billing easy and unobtrusive to your treatment. One method is the doctor can work on a lien. That basically means they do not charge you until your case is settled. The attorney then pays them along with your other medical providers from the settlement amount.

If your chiropractor doesn’t want to work on a lien, that is fine as well. While you are treating, an attorney will track your medical providers and request their medical records and bills when your treatment is complete. Experienced personal injury attorneys do this for two reasons. First, your records and bills serve as tangible evidence for your loss. That’s what insurance companies pay you for, so the attorney collects them all to make the strongest argument for your case. And second:

An attorney can try and reduce the amount of money you owe to these providers.

If you already have a chiropractor, an attorney can make sure they get paid fairly and possibly reduce the amount you owe to other medical providers. Sometimes the emergency room will accept a lower payment in order to get it all in cash sooner. Or, an insurance company might not have a subrogation team and might not want to get paid after all. The attorney makes sure all of these providers have a final bill amount and make sure they get paid so that no bills suddenly arrive at your doorstep months or years later.

Will my case really be that complicated?

It depends. If you have been in an accident and already have a chiropractor, you might consider speaking to a lawyer to learn more. At Vrana Law Firm we offer free consultations where you can speak to an attorney about your particular situation. This would be a chance to learn about how an attorney can work with your chiropractor to protect you from unexpected debt, the hassle of tracking down bills, and all the other complications of accident injuries.

If you are in this situation, call us at 480-359-6002 so we can help you understand your case. Or, click here to learn more about our free consultations.