Car Accidents & Lawyers in Pompano Beach & Fort Lauderdale
Car Accidents
It happens all the time; someone gets in an auto accident and then goes to Google for help. The problem is too often, victims of motor vehicle collisions are directed by crafty advertisements to personal injury attorneys first, rather than health care professionals. And, yes, lawyers can be helpful when you’re a victim of a car crash. But going to an auto accident lawyer first might be a red flag to your insurance company.
In Florida, your auto insurance policy covers at least $10,000.00 worth of necessary auto injury treatment. And you don’t need an attorney to help you get injury care with those funds. You might need an attorney to get treatment after personal injury funds are used up or to recover your deductible. After all, some policies have the maximum $1,000 deductible. But few physicians will deny you treatment because you don’t have enough money with you to pay your deductible. The physicians also know they will eventually probably recover unpaid amounts from the person’s insurance that hit you.
So you must be wondering “why am I being advertised to by so many lawyers?” Often, within a day or two after an auto accident, personal injury advertisements mysteriously appear in your mailbox. Accident reports are public record. The information on these reports is often taken and used for advertising purposes. Attorneys often attract new customers telling them that there is no charge for their services unless a settlement is won, and that their fees will only be a percentage of that amount. Usually the percentage is somewhere between 30 and 40 percent. Don’t get me wrong, they usually earn their pay. But the point is, it is big business. A quick settlement can increase their income by several thousand dollars.
So how does it work? Usually something like this: You go to a personal injury attorney and they send you to a doctor. The doctor documents your injuries and hopefully provides you quality injury care to help you get better. The attorney might not want you to get better, though. You see, if you get better, it’s going to be hard getting a settlement for more than your outstanding medical bills. In order to get a big settlement, you have to have permanent injuries that interfere with your life. Often, the more you are injured, the happier your attorney is! It translates to a better chance for a high settlement and more money for them! There are some real good attorneys out there though. The good ones hope you get better. If you don’t, however, they step up and negotiate a settlement on your behalf. The good ones know that the injury you need to get a good settlement isn’t worth it. It is far better to have your health than an insurance settlement.
Your potential settlement is usually quite limited. The person that hit you might have a small insurance policy – or worse yet, no insurance. In this case, you might have to sue your own insurance company for a settlement. Of course, this only works when you bought the extra insurance – which many don’t because it is not required in Florida and only adds to the cost of your insurance premiums.
So What Should You Do?
If you have been injured in a car accident, get treatment for your injuries. Go to a doctor who pays attention to you and is really concerned for your health. If it seems like your being schmoozed, or like your just a number, or like someone else is calling the shots – maybe a business owner telling the doctor and staff what to do, get out! Too many pain clinics are owned by business people who have no medical training. They are often just number crunchers charging high fees for services minimally performed by the cheapest help they can find. A place like this can burn through your insurance benefits in a short time. This is ideal for the attorney, in fact, this might be why they recommended you to that particular pain clinic. You see once your insurance benefits are exhausted, you need the personal injury attorney’s services. If the pain clinic can provide you with more services than your insurance policy covers, it puts you in a place where you owe them money. You then have to use the lawyers services to pay back the pain clinic. And because you never really got the quality treatment that you needed, you still have injuries so that the attorney can negotiate a settlement “on your behalf”.
Remember, you are already the victim. Don’t be a victim again by getting a lousy attorney that sends you to one of his buddies.
To make an appointment with a chiropractor in Pompano Beach, call 954-969-8800 now. At Agape Chiropractic, we use chiropractic techniques, physiotherapy including massage, and assisted exercises to get you better. At Agape Chiropractic, we care about you and will do everything we can to get you better quickly. We will document your injuries and treatment well which will help if you need an attorney later to negotiate a settlement for any unresolved injuries. Call Agape Chiropractic now.
Agape Chiropractic
Chiropractor serving the Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale area
500 S. Cypress Road #4
Pompano Beach, Florida 33060
(954) 969-8800
