Ice Missiles Causing Baltimore Auto Accidents

Ice Missiles Causing Baltimore Auto Accidents

As my avid blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore chiropractor with two clinics in Baltimore City that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore auto accident injury patients. Typically the injuries we see present as headaches, neck pain, and back pain. In some instances we see upper and lower extremity pain as well as vehicle occupants suffer contusions and extremity sprains and strains due to striking their body within the vehicle during the impact.

Just today we had several new auto accident patients who all had one thing in common – their injuries were due to ice missiles! Prior to today I had never heard of the term ice missile so I wanted to learn a bit more about it and share it on my blog.

I have been a chiropractor for almost nine years and I had not heard of ice missiles until today. An ice missile is when a sheet of ice or snow flies off another vehicle or truck and then causes either bodily injury and/or property damage to another car. Although we had a relatively mild winter with only one really substantial snow storm, there are still many people driving around on the roads who have not taken the time to brush their vehicle’s roof of from snow and ice. So what happens when they drive is that sheet of snow or ice takes off and becomes an “ice missile” that can go anywhere and cause havoc on the roads to other motorists.

Interestingly, Maryland does not have any laws on the books that require the removal of snow and ice from a vehicle before operating it. According to AAA, Maryland State Troopers are legally allowed to give tickets to motorists for driving with accumulated snow and ice on the surface of their vehicles, but the state of Maryland does not have law that specifically require that motorists do so before driving their vehicles. The same holds true for Washington D.C. and Virginia. Commercial trucks and vehicles are required to remove snow and ice debris, but sedans and SUVs do not have the same law on the books. That sounds a little confusing to me. Surrounding states such as Pennsylvania do require motor vehicles to remove their snow and ice, however. So even though the law does not require it, it is considered a common courtesy and good general practice to clear the debris from your car prior to operating it.

Here are some tips to help you clear the snow and ice off of your vehicle. And yes, you guessed it, they are pretty common sense.

1. Use de-icer spray on the windshield of your vehicle prior to a substantial snow fall if you can.
2. Pull your windshield wiper blades off of the your windshield prior to the snow storm. It will make your windshield easier to clean and will prevent your blades from sticking.
3. Use a telescoping snow brush to reach the hard to reach areas such as the roof of your car to knock snow or ice off.
4. Work from the top down – Always start with the top of your vehicle and pull the snow towards you. That will prevent you from having to do double duty and re-clearing the hood of your car a second time.
5. For tall vehicles such as trucks and SUVs, get a step stool or step ladder to reach the top
6. Park your car facing the morning sun (east) – Even a few degrees of warmth may be enough to help loosen the snow and ice from your vehicle. You can aid in the melting of the ice and snow by turning on your vehicles front and rear defrosters by taking advantage of morning sunlight.
7. Always make sure your tailpipe is clear of snow to avoid the accumulation of toxic carbon monoxide

Even though we all want to stay in bed as long as possible and avoid having to go to work the morning following a snow storm, its important to spend the extra time to carefully remove snow and ice from your vehicle. Although it technically is not a law in Maryland, it is common courtesy. We all share the roads and we owe it to each other to make the commute as safe as possible.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of an ice missile, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We now have two locations in Baltimore (Southeast- Fells Point, and Northwest, Upper Park Heights) to better serve your injury treatment needs.

Dr. Gulitz

Autonomous Uber Car Involved In Roll Over Crash

As a Baltimore Chiropractor, I spend the majority of my day while in my two Baltimore chiropractic clinics treating patients that have headaches, neck pain, and back pain. About half of our patients have been involved in Baltimore auto accidents and have suffered from whiplash. The other half of our patients are athletes, couch potatoes, and weekend warriors who sprain and strain their spine and are just looking for short term relief care so they can resume their lives quickly and pain free. We are happy to provide whatever level of care that our patients need.

One of the subjects that I like to follow in current events is the technology surrounding autonomous vehicles. I do forsee a day and probably within my working lifetime that there will be fewer (if any) human drivers on the road and that all non-commercial motor vehicles will be controlled by on board computers. Right now most of the major technology companies such as google, tesla, uber, and apple are all trying to stake their claim to the autonomous driving world so I see it as a foregone conclusion. Technological advancement, however, is not without its draw backs and “growing pains.” Just this past week in Tempe, Arizona an autonomous driving uber was involved in an auto accident with a human driver and it rolled over following the impact.

It’s a pretty sensational headline because naturally you might think that the autonomous uber vehicle caused the crash, but that wasn’t the case. The uber vehicle reportedly had an operator behind the wheel but was in autonomous driving mode at the time of the crash. There were no passengers in the uber and there were no reported injuries at the scene. According to police the uber was a Volvo XC90 that was hit and rolled over when another vehicle failed to properly yield at an intersection.

As a result of the crash uber has temporarily suspended the operation of all autonomous vehicles in Arizona as they gather data. Uber also temporarily suspended self driving vehicles in Pittsburgh and San Francisco for the day and are considering doing so longer.

While I do only see this as a short blip on the radar for uber and other companies with autonomous driving vehicles, it does bring to light the complexity of driving, especially when there will undoubtedly be a mix of autonomous and human driving vehicles sharing the road. Humans sharing the road with other human drivers leads to hundreds of thousands of injuries a year in the United States and humans sharing the road with autonomous drivers is already leading to motor vehicle collisions. Until we can get to the time and place where ONLY autonomous drivers are operating cars on the road, I foresee there being many more collisions (but certainly at a rate that is less than when only humans operate vehicles.) I am not sure how engineers can account for all of the complexities of operating cars in real time to prevent all collisions and injuries.

I do not think that uber has a plan to release autonomous driving vehicles in Baltimore any time soon. But when they do my staff and I are happy to take care of any uber-induced Baltimore auto accident injuries.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a motor vehicle collision in Baltimore, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We now have two convenient and accessible locations to better serve your injury treatment needs.

Dr. Gulitz

What is Maximum Medical Improvement?

As my avid blog readers (and I know you are out there) are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor. I own two clinics in Baltimore, located in Southeast Baltimore (Fells Point) and Northwest Baltimore (Upper Park Heights). We focus on taking care of anyone with spinal pain. That includes athletes, students, couch potatoes and really anyone else. As the clinics grow we continue to see more Baltimore auto accident patients. I like to focus each of my blog posts about an issue dealing with Baltimore auto accidents since it is a subject that I find particularly interesting and it impacts me and my providers every day.

When someone gets injured in a Baltimore auto accident, they typically present with a series of symptoms that include but are not limited to, headaches, neck pain, back pain, numbness and tingling down an arm, numbness and tingling down a leg, shoulder pain, and concussions. Just about any body part, under the right circumstances, could become injured following a Baltimore auto accident injury. Our job as treating providers at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is to figure out exactly what pain and injuries were caused by the crash and then to rehab the patient until those symptoms and pain resolve.

That brings me to the subject of the blog post, Maximum Medical Improvement, or MMI. The definition of MMI is having a patient’s subjective and objective complaints return to the level of pain that they were experiencing prior to their injury. It also means that if you can not do that, that you have exhausted all methods within the scope of your practice to do so. In the cases where there are permanent injuries, patients must be discharged/released from care once it is clear that their treating providers can not continue to heal or improve the patient.

I am going to offer up a few examples below to demonstrate what MMI is.

A) A patient was a normal healthy 21 year old college student. He got rear-ended and developed neck and back pain. He did a “routine” course of chiropractic care with physical therapy and modalities and after about eight weeks all of his symptoms resolved. He resumed all of his normal activities and he was discharged as being pain free with no residual symptoms. In this case, the patient reached MMI in 8 weeks. He had no pain or issues prior to the crash and was discharged once he again reached that level of discomfort (which was becoming pain-free again).

B) A patient has chronic back pain from a football injury in college. They usually get a low level of pain in their lower back (4/10) and they experience this pain about the half the week (3-4 days are good and then 3-4 days are bad). They already have medical providers such as pain doctors or orthopedists that they follow up with to manage their chronic pain.

This patient who is different from the example above gets involved in a Baltimore auto accident as in the example above. Now the definition for MMI is different for this patient. Our goal is to get this patient back to their PRE-EXISTING condition. For him, that is mild-to-moderate lower back pain about half the week. It is NOT getting them to zero pain, given that they presented with back pain. In this instance the Baltimore auto accident aggravated or “flared up” their condition and our obligation is to get their condition back to where it was before the crash. Once the patient’s condition is back to where it was, we release them at MMI.

C) In the example above let’s look at that patient again. What if we were never able to get that patient back to where they were prior to the crash? What if they were ejected from the vehicle and now have a surgical back condition that chiropractic care and physical therapy will not help? What if despite our help they now have daily constant back pain at a 9/10 and none of our treatment can help reduce the pain any further after a reasonable course of care? That has happened before. We would still release that patient at MMI in this example because they will have a condition that therapy in this office can not realistically get back to “pre-injury” status.

So the big question is why does any of this matter?

The answer is simple. When a patient is injured their insurance companies (either their first party PIP carriers or the adverse insurance driver who struck them and is responsible for paying for the injuries) have agreed to contractually ONLY pay for injuries that are related to an accident. That means that they will pay for the treatment of these patients only until they have reached MMI. They will discontinue payment for treatment once MMI has been reached. That is why providers such as medical doctors, orthopedists, chiropractors, and physical therapists need to concern ourselves with what MMI is when a patient has reached MMI with our care.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We now have 2 convenient locations to better serve your injury needs.

Dr. Gulitz

Will My Auto Insurance Rates Go Up If I Use My PIP Benefits Following a Baltimore Auto Accident Injury?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that owns two clinics in Baltimore City, I spend the majority of my time in the clinic managing headaches, neck pain, and back pain. Clearly these conditions can arise for a number of reasons. We see people injured from playing sports, working out in the gym, or just waking up with stiff necks and backs. However, one of the most common sources of injuries that we treat in this clinic are auto accident whiplash injuries that result in neck pain and back pain in Baltimore.

One of the questions that my staff and I get asked most commonly is whether or not an injured patient’s auto insurance rates will go up if they elect to use their PIP (Personal Injury Protection) benefits. If you recall PIP is Maryland’s no-fault benefit that is used when an injury occurs as a result of a motor vehicle collision. PIP is typically written in amounts of $2,500, $5,000, or $10,000 but can be waived at the time of underwriting. PIP can be used to pay for lost wages and post-injury rehabilitation (including x-rays, chiropractic care, and physical therapy) following a Baltimore auto accident injury regardless of who caused the crash.

Its a reasonable question to ask as to whether or not auto insurance rates will go up if you elect to use your PIP benefits. Let’s look at two scenarios. One in which the injured patient is at fault for the crash, and one in which they are not. And please keep in mind – obviously I am not a licensed attorney in the state of Maryland nor am I licensed to sell insurance in Maryland. If you have a specific question about your specific set of circumstances you would be best served calling your insurance agent or personal injury attorney to discuss your particular situation

Example 1: Patient A was driving home from an Orioles game and fell asleep behind the wheel. They crashed their car into another car by rear-ending them at a red light. They injured their neck and want to use their PIP benefits to get x-rays and chiropractic care to help heal their neck. In this instance, it is likely that their auto insurance rates WILL go up following their auto accident injury. That is because they caused a crash and their auto insurer will now see them as a larger risk and as such will assess higher premiums for their policy. However, the important thing to note is that their auto insurance rates are ALREADY going up from having caused a crash. In such an instance it still makes sense for the injured patient to file for PIP benefits because they have already been paying a premium for access to this insurance and their rates are going up whether or not they choose to open a PIP claim.

Example 2: Patient B was idling at a red light when they were rear-ended by patient A in the example above. They developed whiplash symptoms including post traumatic headaches, neck pain, and back pain. They present to my clinic worried about whether they should open a PIP claim since the crash was not their fault. In this instance, I would encourage them to open a PIP claim or have one opened on their behalf by their personal injury attorney if they have one, since they were non-faulted victims in a crash. Even though PIP is a first party benefit (paid out by Patient B’s insurance not the adverse insurance that indemnifies the driver that caused the accident) Maryland law forbids insurers to raise auto insurance premiums in cases where there is no fault on behalf of the victim. The particular law in question is found under Maryland General Assembly 19-507(c). The law protects the rights of injured patients/claimants by enforcing the rule that a policy premium can not be increased should a PIP claim be opened.

You can read the particulars of the law here.

The choice as to whether or not you should open a PIP claim following a Baltimore auto accident is completely in the hands of the injured patient. The vase majority of patients do choose to open a claim, as they have paid for benefits that they are entitled to. Those that choose against opening a claim are typically worried about financial ramifications (i.e. raising auto insurance premiums) as the reason why they do not open PIP claims. I hope that this information helps people in Baltimore injured in Baltimore auto accident injuries make the best decision they can as to whether or not to open a PIP claim.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore auto accident injury, please call Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We now have two convenient locations in Baltimore City to help with your auto accident rehabilitation needs!

Dr. Gulitz

History of Auto Accident Induced Lower Back Pain Is a Risk Factor For Developing Future Lower Back Pain

As a Baltimore Chiropractor with two chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, I spend a lot of my time concerning myself with auto accident rehabilitation and auto accident injury treatment in Baltimore. Whenever I find research that relates to it I try and learn about it as it impacts the patients in my clinics everyday.

I came across a study from the European Spine Journal that was posted on April 8, 2017 that spoke about the likelihood of developing lower back pain in the future if an individual suffered from lower back pain as a result of a motor vehicle collision (auto accident injury). You can see a copy of the abstract of the study here.

The researchers randomly selected nearly 800 Saskatchewan adults with either no or mild lower back pain and then asked them if they had ever injured their lower backs in motor vehicle collisions (auto accidents). They then followed up with these individuals at 6 and 12 month periods after their initial contact.

The researchers concluded that there was a “positive crude association between a history of low back injury in a MVC and the development of troublesome LBP over a 12-month period.”

Anecdotally I have been seeing this in my Baltimore City chiropractic clinics for years. That is, we would take in a new patient who developed lower back pain following a Baltimore auto accident injury. We would treat them for a short course (6-8 weeks) of chiropractic therapy with physical therapy for their injuries and for the most part (assuming there were no fractures, dislocations, or disc herniations) these patients would typically have their conditions resolve within that course of treatment. However, about half would present for additional follow up care for lower back pain within the next year following the conclusion of their treatment.

While the exact reason as to why lower back pain persists despite a successful outcome with chiropractic care and physical therapy is not yet known, it does demonstrate that I have believed to be true. It implies that healing is a longer process than just a few weeks or months of rehab. I have read research that true healing following the trauma of a motor vehicle collision can take up to a year. This research supports this hypothesis. And while this may prove to be true, insurance carriers will not likely pay for years of on-going chiropractic care or physical therapy. But that’s a subject for another time…

If you, or someone you know, has developed lower back pain as a result of a Baltimore auto accident injury and require treatment, please contact us at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help you recover at either of our two Baltimore City chiropractic clinics.

Dr. Gulitz