It may be okay to ask your lawyer for personal advice on a good doctor or lawyer to see.  But should you accept your attorney’s direct referral to a doctor because it could help your accident bill?

Absolutely not.  According to Corey Malnikof, a local chiropractor, you should just “run away.”

Insurance companies keep track of the doctors used by patients of a particular lawyer.  If there’s a trend of clients using the same spinal doctor, orthopedist, or other medical professionals, your case could be weakened.  Malnikof gives excellent advice, reminding us that your relationship with your doctor should be patient-doctor and your relationship with your attorney should be client-attorney.  Blurring those lines is a bad idea.

Fairfax attorney Ben Glass describes the approach taken in court by the insurance company is there is a trend in the numbers of attorney clients who are also patients to a particular doctor through referrals.  Glass describes this situation as the “kiss of death” to your case.

Insurance companies know about these scams.  They will find ways to discredit your case in court.

Unfortunately, even an innocent-sounding referral could doom your settlement.  Do your own research as a consumer and make sure that there isn’t a fishy-smelling relationship between your lawyer and your doctor.

If it ever seems like there is an “endgame” in play from your medical or legal professional, you may have found your way into a bad situation that could hurt your case.

For more information about Malnikof’s chiropractic services go to PalmerCare.com and for more information on personal injury law in Virginia, check out BenGlassLaw.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If your personal injury lawyer has a stack of doctor cards in his office, RUN!

You should never rely on a lawyer to tell you whether you should see a doctor or not.  Your attorney should also not tell you which doctor to choose.

It is up to you to decide if you need to seek treatment for your injuries.  You might want to ask yourself if you would still see a doctor if the accident was solely your fault.  Answering this question will help you determine if your motives are right in seeking medical care.  You don’t want to pursue medical care only because you believe that it will add more value to your accident claim.

Your doctor will play an important role after your auto accident by recommending the appropriate treatment for your injuries.  That is why it is so crucial that you choose someone who is best suited to treat your condition.

Once your doctor has created a treatment plan for you, it is important that you follow through.  The insurance company will review your medical records and will know what type of care you received.  The insurer will also know if you missed appointments.  Don’t give the insurance company any reason to undervalue your claim.

To learn more about what you should and shouldn’t do after a Virginia car accident, read Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

If it sounds fishy just stay away.

Recently our office was contacted by an accident victim. She had been rear ended by a drunk driver and suffered neck and back injuries. In her search for medical care she came across a chiropractor website that mentioned that he specialized in “accident cases.” She called his office.

He immediately began encouraging her to file a lawsuit and to sign up with “his” lawyer. He wanted to get her in to start her on the “MedPay program” which is chiropractor-speak for “let’s get the treatment until your car insurance medical benefits run out.” When she did not accept his offer at first he called her several times over the next week.

Sorry to all you legitimate chiropractors out (and there are many) there but I hear the story at least twice a week. Let me repeat my advice here:

Any healthcare provider who bases your treatment on how much medical payments insurance you have on your car insurance policy should be fired before he is hired.

Any healthcare provider who says that you should see “his” lawyer should get the same boot. Unfortunately, some health care providers see car accident victims as an “opportunity.” (I know, I know-so do some lawyers-I’m critical of them as well).

Here is a scam run by some health care providers after you have been in an accident.

You seek treatment because of the accident and you go to a doctor that is under your health insurance plan plan’s program. This means that the doctor and the insurance company have already negotiated a fee for the office visit. You have paid a premium to the health insurance company to benefit from the negotiated, reduced fee.

This time however, because you were an accident, the doctor says “let’s not put this through your health insurance company” or “we are we are not going to put this to your health insurance company” and we want you to pay cash.

Why would they do this?

They do this in order to get paid full list price for their medical services. They are violating their contract with the insurance company. Doctors are not allowed to pick and choose which medical procedures or office visits they will submit to the insurance company and which they will charge you cash for. This is a benefit that you paid for with your insurance premium.

A variation of this scam is for the doctor to say that they will not submit a claim to the insurance company but will “take an assignment” of your personal injury proceeds. Again this is not good for you. At the end of the case they will expect to be paid 100% for their visit where, if they had submitted a claim to the insurance company they would’ve been paid some discount from that.

If your doctor tries to pull this scam when you call your insurance company and complain.