Personal Injury and Motor Vehicle Accidents in Thousand Oaks CA

It is your right to receive proper medical attention (including rehabilitative care) to cure or relieve your injuries; have the damage to your property restored or replaced; and to be compensated for your losses.

As most automobile accidents tend to cause predominately soft-tissue (muscles, tendons and ligaments) injuries, it is to your benefit to see a specialist such as a doctor of chiropractic or a physical therapist, as they specialize in the rehabilitative care of soft-tissue injuries.

While medications are beneficial in reducing symptoms, it has been shown that victims of car accidents have statistically better long-term outcomes when they include rehabilitative care in their treatment plan¹. Without rehabilitative care, soft-tissue injuries can leave lasting affects for months or even years. The sudden acceleration and deceleration forces induced during car accidents cause muscles, ligaments and tendons (soft-tissue) to get over-stretched and torn. This is also known as whiplash. Subsequently, your body lays down scar tissue to repair itself. Unfortunately, the scar tissue is never as strong as the tissue before it was torn; and while muscle relaxants, painkillers or anti-inflammatory medications help to reduce the symptoms, they do not strengthen the torn tissue. It is for this very reason that athletes go immediately into rehabilitative care following soft-tissue injuries. In fact, professional athletes frequently receive rehabilitative care when they are injury-free to help them boost their performance and prevent injury. You will want to seek the same care following your accident.

Rehabilitative care includes a combination of soft-tissue mobilization and myofascial release (both types of therapeutic massage), gentle stretching, joint mobilization, therapeutic exercises and modalities such as therapeutic ultra-sound and electrical stimulation. With most minor impact soft-tissue (MIST) injuries, and for the rehabilitative process to be effective, the typical length of treatment lasts 6-8 weeks, sometimes a bit less and sometimes more, depending on the severity of the injuries. The sooner you get started the better.

In many cases, your insurance policy will have a "Med Pay" portion, which will pay for 100% of your medical bills up to a certain limit. Once you have reached a pre-injury status, your insurance company will collect from the insurer of the party at fault. If you do not know if you have Med Pay, a simple glance over your insurance policy will usually reveal a "Medical Expense" box under the "Coverage" column that will define your limits. If you do not have it, and as long as the accident was not your fault, care can be provided on a lien basis, until your symptoms and limitations resolve. At that point in time, the insurance company of the driver at fault should reimburse you or your insurance company for your medical expenses

As long as you are not the party at fault, using your Med Pay will not increase your insurance premiums.

Do not settle your case until you have had a specialist, either a doctor of chiropractic or a physical therapist, evaluate your injuries. If you settle your case before you have reached pre-injury status, you will be completely responsible for your care and subsequent expenses.

What you choose to do with this information is completely your decision. Ultimately, we hope that you will use this information to help you avoid some of the common pitfalls experienced by accident victims as there is nothing more important than your health. Please note, there are individuals who are not injured that only seek care for monetary gain. If you are reading this and contemplating defrauding the system, do not call our office. On the other hand, if you are an individual who is truly injured, and you are not receiving the rehabilitative care you need, we want to hear from you. You may call our toll-free number and speak with our insurance expert, Karen, who can further clarify any other insurance concerns you may have. Please call us at (805) 230-1199, or you may use our "contact us" page to reach us by e-mail. Please keep reading, more important questions and answers follow.

Sometimes. The following are some of the scenarios where an attorney can help to protect your rights:
- There is substantial property damage (more than $2,500)
- There is substantial physical injury and consequent loss of earnings
- There is a dispute as to who is at fault
- You have no Med Pay and you need care on a lien basis. On the other hand, if the property damage is minor, there is no dispute as to who is at fault, and you have Med Pay, it is usually not necessary to hire an attorney.

If legal council is necessary, it is best to get evaluated by a specialist first. By doing so, your specialist can communicate the extent of your injuries to your attorney when necessary.

It is not the responsibility of the insurer of the person at fault to pay for any pre-injury complaints. If you were already experiencing pain before the injury it is very important to note the increase in intensity and frequency of pain following the accident as this will help to establish a baseline for the current and past levels of pain. On the other hand, if you had prior injuries to the same body parts as those that were injured during the accident but no pain or limitation in function six months prior to the accident, then it is probable that the old injury had healed completely and any current complaint is due to the current accident.

Absolutely not. If you are currently or have in the past been treated by chiropractors and physical therapists that did not provide the care you needed, the probability is that they did not work in a rehabilitative care model. Our specialists are highly trained in individualizing your care within the framework of rehabilitation for the most comprehensive outcomes.

No, rehabilitative care is not painful; however some muscle soreness associated with soft-tissue massage and exercise is typical and does not last more than a few hours and is usually relieved by icing the affected area. Our patients find the relief they experience from rehabilitation to be priceless in getting their normal lives back.