After the collision is established and you are indeed injured, you must commence treatment with a medical professional. This is treatment after your visit to the emergency room (if you were taken by ambulance from the scene or felt badly enough to go sometime after the police leave the scene.) Treatments come in different shapes and sizes. There is therapy, objective testing, surgeries, and rehabilitation, as in post-surgery. Treatments are determined by your medical professional. Some of our clients have treated or taken therapy with chiropractic physicians, others, with physical therapists. Generally, those are the treatment options patients choose; they are not the only options available, however.
In all cases, doctors must follow medical protocol starting with an examination (which gives them a good idea what parts of your body they need to treat.) After that examination, depending upon the severity of your injuries, the doctor may write a prescription for pain, therapy and/or order objective tests like x-rays, MRI’s, etc. Those tests are usually read by a licensed radiologist. The objective tests assist the doctor in determining how to best proceed. The goal of the doctor is to try to get you back to the health you felt prior to the accident. If they cannot, that is usually proof of permanent injury.
The course of treatment with the doctor finishes when you have reached maximum results. Basically, it is a time when additional treatment will not improve your injuries. This is the point when we lawyers step in to evaluate and analyze the type of case you may have.
Next up, Part 3, “The Role of Auto Insurance” will be posted soon.