While driving around Fort Lauderdale the other day, I heard a new radio advertisement for an Chiropractor/Pain Clinic, telling people involved in a car accident to call them directly and not an attorney. The advertisement said something along the lines of “why call an attorney if you have been in an accident, call us and we can get you the medical treatment you need.” Why call an attorney????? Because an attorney is the only person that can inform you about the law, protect your rights and make sure that you get the compensation you deserve. Doctors and chiropractors can treat your injuries, which of course is very important, but that is all they can do. They cannot offer you legal advice. They cannot negotiate with the insurance companies or the other driver on your behalf. They cannot file lawsuits. They cannot get you one single penny in your pocket. They can treat you for your injuries and bill your insurance company for your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, usually up to $10,000, but they get that money, not you. Click here for a full background and overview of Florida’s No Fault/PIP Law.Now don’t get me wrong, medical providers play a very important role, but generally people know what to do when they get hurt. They either go to the emergency room and then follow up with their own doctor, or if they do not go to the emergency room immediately, they go see their own doctor if the pain does not subside. That doctor will then send them to the appropriate specialist if necessary. To tell people that they need to call a chiropractor/pain clinic to be told what to do after getting in an accident is absurd. Yes, this blog post was a bit of a rant, but the advertising that you hear on the radio in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and the entire state of Florida for that matter has really gotten out of hand and misleads the public. These chiropractors/pain clinics and medical referral services are not regulated to the extent that attorneys are by the Florida Bar. Attorney’s are restricted in what they can claim, and rightfully so, by the Florida Bars advertising rules, while these medical referral services can say and claim almost anything without oversite.

This blog post should not be construed to be anti-chiropractor. Chiropractors play a very important role and the ethical ones are a credit to the medical profession. We at the Personal Injury and Accident Law firm of Berman & Tsombanakis LLC work with many chiropractors in Broward, Miami-Dade & Palm Beach counties to make sure our clients get the best possible treatment for their injuries. Often chiropractic care is an essential part of the treatment and recovery process.

If you have been injured in an accident, your first call should be to 911 to take care of your injuries. Once the situation is no longer an emergency and you have recovered from the shock of the accident and had time to rest, you should call an experienced and aggressive attorney who can advise you of your legal rights and take all steps necessary to insure that you receive the maximum compensation you deserve. The attorneys at the South Florida Injury Law firm of Berman & Tsombanakis LLC are here to assist you and protect those rights.