If you’re ever unfortunate enough to find yourself in an accident, you need to seek medical treatment right away. The doctor that treats you and the quality of care you receive will determine your recovery and determine, if needed, whether you have a solid injury case or not. It is recommended you visit the emergency room right away after your accident, even if you feel you are in good shape. The adrenaline rush and shock can mask the actual damage that’s been done for a while, and this can even last up to the next day. Not visiting the hospital will benefit your insurance companies, as they will find an excuse to avoid covering accident related injuries. One of the most commonly used excuses is that the person was not hurt in the accident because they went to the doctor on another day and didn’t need to do it immediately, which by then, will decrease all your legitimate insurance compensations.
Why it is important to choose the right specialist?
It is important to choose the right specialist to get the necessary treatments, surgeries, or physical therapy to help your healing process. You need to be certain if they are professional enough to treat your condition. This can be clarified by either their reputation or how they study your case: Is he/she gathering and documenting all your injury medical information? Does he/she listen and pay attention to your concerns?
Sports and trauma injuries if not well treated, might have severe repercussions that are irreversible. Taking spinal cord injuries as an example, if the doctor does not diagnose the patient correctly,this can ruin their sports career or cause a lifelong disability. In such situations, it is hard to blame the doctor directly as he did try to treat the patient, regardless of whether he got the right diagnosis or not, and can get more complicated with insurance companies handling your case. Therefore, there are new law firms today that specialize in injury law to help these patients. There are many of these law firms found in the United States. Taking Indianapolis as an example, where many people who have experienced such injuries have consulted an Indianapolis spinal cord injury lawyer who handles such cases and believes that the damages caused by spinal cord injuries encompass more than costs of recovery. It does not include only the person’s inability to perform daily tasks, it also affects their relationships and their quality of life. Spinal cord injury lawyers try their best to negotiate with insurance companies and also if there is a third party to reach their clients’ demands and compensations.
How to find the right specialist to your injury?
Any injury caused by an accident, especially car crashes, is better treated by a skilled specialist. It is a fact that each specialist will have an important role in the most common accident injuries like Spine, Shoulders, Pelvis and Head injuries, so you might end up following up with different specialists to help you recover or reduce pain while your body heals. Your main doctor will often provide you with a recommended specialist, and an experienced personal injury attorney will help you find the best reputable doctor in practice.
We gathered a list that will give you information on specialists that may help:
Neurosurgeon or a Spine surgeon:
A medical specialist that diagnoses and treats both surgical and non-surgical injuries in spinal cord, brain, and nervous system injuries.
Neurologist:
A medical specialist that focuses on diagnosis and non-surgical treatments of brain and nervous system injuries and chronic neurological disorders. This includes the brain, nerves and spinal cord.
Orthopedic surgeon:
Medical specialist that focuses on diagnosis, surgical and non-surgical treatments, prevention and function rehabilitation of musculoskeletal system; which includes bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin and nerves. Therefore, they are also considered as spine surgeons. Most specialize in certain parts of the body: knees, hips or shoulders. Most of the time they will refer you to a physical therapist, simultaneously visiting both doctors for better recovery.
Physiatrist:
Also called medicine and rehabilitation physicians, they are also medical specialists that focus on diagnosing and non-surgical treatments of chronic illness or injury and musculoskeletal disorders; including back and neck pain, injuries, herniated discs, concussions and pinched nerves. They work on rehabilitating patients physically, psychologically, socially and educationally, helping them to achieve maximum fractional capacity.
Physical therapist:
They treat almost the same injuries by focusing on therapeutic exercises and functional training. Restoring strength, movement and functions to treated body part.
Anesthesiologist:
A medical specialist responsible for pain control and supporting life functions before, during and after any surgery. Upon going to surgery, you should meet up with this doctor and determine how experienced they are.
Injured Patients
While doctors focus on healing injuries, patients are responsible for gathering all accurate medical information related to their case, for themselves initially and for their insurance company, who may deny injury coverage if any document is missing, regarding the case as having “incomplete medical records”.
Patients need to make the best medical care choices when choosing specialty doctors and hospitals. They need to follow doctor’s instructions and medications carefully, cannot miss a visit, or fail to complete a therapy session, for their well-being and for a strong case going to court. They also need to be honest and upfront with their doctors, in case they end up going to court, and anticipate that some doctors with legal history may not want to continue treatment or testify. Unfortunately, without a treating doctor testimony, it is difficult to make a strong case.
Patients are responsible for finding a supportive legal attorney to present the strongest case possible, in cases where injury can turn their lives upside down. Injuries by reckless acts of others, whether a drunk driver, a careless doctor or defective tire.
Dealing with injury is stressful, and adding to it which steps to take for your insurance compensation and which doctor to go to can be even add more stress to the patient. Visit different specialty doctors to heal yourself as soon as you can. Traumatic injuries may cause disabilities that may interfere with the patient’s daily activity, so do not underestimate your physiological health. It is as important as your functional health.
