I hear THIS complaint about lawyers virtually EVERY DAY.

Biggest Complaint Clients Have About Their Lawyer...

The biggest complaint I hear from patients regarding their attorney is lack of communication. Multiple calls with no response.  The response from the lawyer's office is that the "lawyer is in court." Could be true or maybe it's not true, but either way, most clients can handle that, as long as they get a call back at some point.

But many times, the call never comes.

Now, I know that if you asked most lawyers, they would tell you that the number one question they get when a client calls, is "How is my case doing?"  And, I get it.  It's the same question over and over again, and its exhausting to have to be bothered with the redundancy of answering the same question over and over again.

But, come on.  As an attorney, you are getting paid very well to answer a few stupid questions.  It's not like it's that difficult.  What I am trying to say in a nice way, is that it could be worse, and for what fees that your client's are going to pay you, at least give them good customer service.   It's not so bad and it okay to take a few minutes out of your day to reach out to your clients...even if you just leave a message on voicemail.

So, I have a suggestion:  Take a little bit of time once every two or three weeks, and try and make a preemptive call out to your client.  Simply give a quick update.  For example, "Hey, its Attorney xyz, I just wanted to let you know that everything looks good on my end.  I sent out the letters of representation and requested policy information.  Just make sure you continue to take care of your injury, and I'll keep you posted in a couple of weeks if I have any updates.  But, don't worry, I'm on top of it."

If you did THAT, and that ONLY, you would be providing a great service to the client, and at the very least you will be easing their mind.  If you made a call like that one or two times a month, not only would you satisfy the client, but they would also be more inclined to stay more compliant with treatment, make referrals to you, and EVEN if the case did not turn out wonderful, at least the client would know that you were working very hard and staying on top of their case, and did the best you could do.

I have been treating accident patients in S. Florida for almost 22 years now.  If any of your client's need a treating doctor in the S. Florida area, please have them give me a call.

Thank you.

Dr. Alan Himmel
954-659-8600  

How to Properly Manage a Personal Injury Patient

Proper management of an injury patient is an important part of patient care that should not be overlooked.  When a new patient comes into my office, I always make sure that the patient has a clear understanding of the process.

The procedure involves detailed documentation of the patient's history, which includes finding out about prior injuries, car accidents, prior medical treatment for any body part, even if the treated body part was not accident related.  The reason behind this, is that all parties involved will want to know whether the patient's new injury overlaps with any prior medically treated areas of the patient's body.

Moreover, included in the history are any other medical conditions, as well as family history, and prescriptions currently being taken.  From this, you can learn a lot.  For example, a patient recently told me that she has a family history of aneurysm resulting in death to her sister and father. Chiropractors should never overlook this history, and blatantly do cervical adjustments on these types of patients.

At the end of the initial visit, there should be an initial report written and each subsequent visit with the doctor should be documented in standard SOAP form.  The patient always signs the chart note for the visit.  No signature and no visit ever happened.

I almost always make sure the patient is quickly referred to an orthopedic specialist or his medical doctor who could also diagnose emergency medical condition if necessary.  Emergency medical condition or EMC, is specific to Florida, and is required if the patient has a more serious injury, and its purpose is that it frees up the patient's full insurance benefit, if extensive treatment is necessary.  The insurance company is counting on the fact that the patient will not have an EMC and will only be responsible for 25% of the claim.  Without it, the insurance company takes away 75% of the patents insurance benefit.

Soft tissue injuries are better diagnosed with objective tests, like MRI.  Sometimes, X-rays are ordered if fracture or dislocation is suspected.  Most of the time however, x-rays do not turn up injury in patients that have injuries that are soft tissue in nature.  Over the years, I have seen some broken ribs, sternums, and bones in the hands and feet, but this is rare.  X-rays have shown dislocations, over the years,

Depending on the frequency of the visit, the course of treatment can vary between a couple months and upward of 6 months or more.

Any other referrals will be made if necessary, including orthopedic doctors, neurologists, podiatrists, mental health doctors, etc.

Finally, a report is generated when the patient is released from standard care, at maximum medical improvement, MMI.  If there is a request for an impairment rating, I will provide the rating in the report, and forward the report to the attorney who is helping to resolve any claims.

During this whole process, COMMUNICATION is key so that everyone is on the same page, and nothing is missed.

I have been seeing mainly personal injury type patients for 20+ years.  If you have been involved in a car accident, don't hesitate.  Please call my office to schedule your first visit.  If you are a lawyer and have a client who you think could benefit from an experienced doctor in regard to accident care, I will love to see that person.  It is NOT my goal to provide GOOD care to my patients;  it IS my goal to provide EXCELLENT care to my patients.

Alan Himmel, DC PA.
954-659-8600

More Disruption Coming-- Autonomous Cars Will Change Auto Insurance Among Other Things...

More Disruption Coming-- Autonomous Cars Will Change Auto Insurance Among Other Things...

Dr. Alan Himmel-West Miramar Car Accident Injury Doctor

Autonomous cars are coming.  Get ready.  It is estimated that by 2025 there could be 600,000 autonomous cars on the road, and by 2035, there could be 21 million cars on the road. (1)

What is an autonomous car?  Well, it's a self driving car.  To paint the picture, this is probably what driving will be like in the future:  We will step into our cars with probably some futuristic doors which open up in  Lamborghini style in order for us to easily slide in with handfuls of carry-ons. Think of getting onto an airport shuttle bus.  We will step in, place our stuff on the side, and simply have a seat.  From there we will likely just speak our destination out loud, so that the navigation (GPS) hears us and figures out the best route.  A voice will come on and say, please buckle your seat belt, and inform us that we will be at our destination in 23 minutes and 16 seconds.  Ehh....no speeding anymore since we are not in control of the gas pedal.  And, at this point, the doors will shut, the system will make sure all passengers are safely secured, and we will be on our way.

Since we are no longer in control of our car, we could, if we want to just sit back and read the newspaper (if they still exist), do some computer work, watch a movie, or do anything else we want.
Even Sleep.

The trip will probably be very boring.  I figure it will be like being on a tour bus, with only one big difference; we have seen this city all before, since we live here.  This won't be like being on a tour bus travelling through Rome, unless you live in Rome.  There will be no reason to take your camera with you.

So, let's talk about how the autonomous car will change things, and there are plenty: The first thing that comes to mind, is that automated cars will reduce the amount of human error, since our cars will be controlled by computer software and hardware.  I know what you are thinking... GPS is very inaccurate and most of the time it sends you to the wrong place.  Believe me, this is a system which is in progress, and I would expect there to be gigantic improvements in GPS technology.  Eliminate human error and there are less injuries, and fatalities, because there are less accidents of all kinds. Car insurance companies will have to restructure the policies to account for the possibility of computer error, and those tech companies who created the system would be held liable for accidents.

And, I would expect cars with combustion engines (again, if they still exist) to be more efficient. Keeping you at a constant 45mph in a 45mph zone will save you gas.  It will also save your brakes.

How else would we expect life to change with autonomous cars?   Fewer car accidents mean fewer trips to a body shop.  Fewer car wrecks would mean fewer tow trucks on the road.  Calling a UBER driver (sorry Taxi Companies, it was good while it lasted but your days are numbered), will mean a driverless UBER car comes to you and picks you up.  There are billions of dollars going into making this happen.  Postal, UPS, and small package delivery will probably use these driverless vehicles also.

What if we don't want this?  Sorry, its coming.  Just about every car manufacturer is working on this to make it a reality, along with Apple, Google, Microsoft, just to name the obvious. (2) (3)
Let me put it to you this way:  When Google pays a billion dollars for a traffic app called Waze, do you think it is entirely for watching where the police are?  No.  Its all about the data that that app provides back to Google.  And, don't forget that just about everyone has a smart phone, which uses wifi and data, which is continuously sending information back to Apple and Google plotting your exact coordinates.  The information that these companies are gathering will one day be crucial to making these systems work.

For now, we are just starting to see a sprinkling of this new technology in our cars.  There have been self parking cars out for a few years now.  Also, blind spot monitoring in side view mirrors has been out for a while.  My 2014 Mazda has this feature.  I just saw a commercial on TV (can't remember the car company) showing a car that is available right now, that will completely avoid colliding into something.  They were demonstrating how the car automatically stops if a person walks out in front of a car which was driving straight ahead, and while the driver took his eyes off the road for a few seconds.  Pretty awesome, and that would prevent a rear end collision, too.

What if you are the type of person who likes to keep his car forever or you like the classic cars?  I doubt if these older cars would ever disappear completely, but you would expect them to be less and less common, just like we don't see many Model T's on the road very often.

In summary, we are living in some exciting times in terms of technology.  I am not sure if I am ready for it, because I still enjoy driving, and being in control of my car.  Our grandkids will likely look back and find it amusing that we actually use to drive our own cars.  

Miramar Chiropractor


References:
1. http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/autonomous-car-sales-ihs/
2. https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/autonomous-driverless-vehicles-corporations-list/
3. http://www.fastcompany.com/3024362/innovation-agents/10-autonomous-driving-companies-to-watch

Will Florida PIP Cover Me if I am Traveling out of Florida?

Will Florida PIP Cover Me if I am Traveling out of Florida?

Alan Himmel, DC PA

In your own car: YES.
In a car that is not yours, including a rental: NO
In Mexico:  NO
In Canada:  YES

Here is a scenario:  You are a Florida resident and have a Florida registered and insured car and travel north to go skiing in the Smoky Mountains.   You decide to pile your family into the family SUV, and make a trip. You manage to get through Florida and Georgia safely, but when you get into Tennessee, someone runs a red light and smashes into your car causing injuries. In this scenario, you were in your own car, so there IS coverage for you and your family.

Let's say you find that there is no snow in North Carolina and decide to travel into Canada?  Yes, there is PIP coverage for injuries to you and your family if you have an accident in Canada.

HOWEVER, lets say you decide to FLY to North Carolina, and rent a car.  You have an accident in North Carolina while occupying a rental car.  NO, there is no coverage under your Florida PIP policy. Same is true if you are in a friend's car in NC, It's not your car, so no PIP. 

Let's say you are in your relative's car in NC, providing that the relative is a NC resident, No Florida PIP here either.  How about if you are in a relative's car in NC and the relative is a Florida resident with car insurance coming from Florida?  No coverage here either unless you and the relative LIVE together.

In Mexico in your own car and there is NO coverage.

In regard to resident relatives:  There are some companies that will deny a claim if they determine that the policyholder did not disclose all people in the household when the policy was purchased.  They will deny the claim based on "material misrepresentation."    So, always let the company know all people living in the house, no matter if the addition of these extra people in the house will increase the cost of the policy.  If you hide this information from them, they will find out and may deny your claim.

I'm not a lawyer.  I am a chiropractor with 26 years experience treating auto accident patients, and I have been exposed to many different coverage scenarios.  Get all legal opinions from a licensed attorney.