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

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

Chiropractic Help After Injury at Work

If you have been injured while at work you may be able to receive workers compensation. Workers compensation was put into action in order to help employees if they happened to get hurt while conducting a job related task. In exchange for not suing the company, workers compensation provided wage replacement benefits, vocational rehabilitation and medical treatment. One of the common injuries acquired while on the job are back related issues. If you have been experiencing neck or back problems because of work, a skilled chiropractor may be able to relieve some of that pain.

Understanding Chiropractic Practices

Chiropractors know how to use hands-on spinal manipulation to help align the body’s musculoskeletal structure. Adjusting and aligning the spine helps enable the body to heal itself without the need of invasive surgery or medication. If you fell while at work or lifted heavy objects that caused the back pain, workers compensation may be able to cover the expenses of seeing a chiropractor. When your back is injured, you may experience different levels of pain ranging from aches to sharp pain. The goal of chiropractic therapy is to provide an alternative to surgery that still offers pain relief for the bones, connective tissue, muscles and joints. This pain relief is accomplished by the reduction of pressure being placed on the central nervous system.

What to Expect When Seeing a Chiropractor

Typically, your first visit will involve an evaluation and you may be asked to describe your symptoms or what may have caused this pain. Sometimes the chiropractor may order tests and X-rays to help them better understand your condition. Once the evaluation is complete, a treatment plan will be developed. Pain management can take some time and it is recommended that you schedule several appointments over a specific period of time.

The appointments may vary in the type of pressure that is used on your back. Sometime the pressure may be abrupt or could be low in force. Sometimes, only hands are used or other times a specially designed instrument may be implemented. When developing the treatment plan, you may be given the option of adding:

• Massages
• Electrical stimulation
• Hot and cold packs
• Nutritional supplements
• Therapeutic Exercises

Speak with your chiropractor ahead of time to develop the treatment plan you’d like. The chiropractor may also suggest a change in diet and recommend some physical activity.

Getting Pain Relief

If you were hurt while at work, you may be nervous about what the future holds. Many people receive back related injuries while at work from either lifting heavy objects, slipping, falling, repetitive movements, even inactivity can cause back pain. Chiropractors understand how hindering back pain can be for your daily life. Reach out to a workers compensation lawyer Washington, D.C., residents trust as well as a chiropractor to get the help you need for your injuries.

Thanks to our friends and contributors from Cohen & Cohen, P.C., for their insight into chiropractic care after a work injury.

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab Adds New Medical Marketing Liaison – Meet Taylor Bradshaw

As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with 5 chiropractic/rehab clinics in and around metro Baltimore. We have offices in Northwest Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore/Catonsville, Southeast Baltimore, Dundalk and Glen Burnie. In addition to treating Baltimore car accident and Baltimore worker’s compensation patients, each office is also in network with numerous health insurance companies. That is, each office accepts patients without acute traumatic injuries. We treat everyone with headaches, neck pain and back pain. In an effort to keep up with the growing demands of our rapidly expanding clinic, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab added a new medical marketing liaison.

Taylor Bradshaw joined the team in order to lead the sales and marketing efforts in the medical referral community. Prior to working with Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab, Taylor was a medical liaison for the largest pain management group on the East Coast, working alongside five centers in the Baltimore and DC Metropolitan areas. She helped to grow and to sustain valuable relationships with medical practices ranging from primary and urgent care centers, to orthopedic surgeons and hospital systems alike. Taylor’s role as the medical marketing liaison with Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab is to share the benefits of chiropractic care with medical physicians and staff by educating them on the therapeutic, holistic and medical treatment options that we provide for their patients. This message is ever so important right now, given the current opioid epidemic, as Chiropractic care is a drug-free hands-on approach to pain management.

Taylor graduated from Towson University in 2013 with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising. She currently lives in Canton with her adorable rescue Dog, Camden. She enjoys the Baltimore City night life, playing on a kickball team with friends and enjoying the beach on weekends with her family.

So if you see her around the neighborhood, please say hello and welcome Taylor to the Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab family. We’re sure she will be a great addition to the team and we are excited to have her on board.

Dr. Gulitz

Baltimore Metro Area Determined to be Least Safe Metro Area to Drive in United States

As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with 5 Chiropractic clinics in metro Baltimore, MD. We now offer clinics in Downtown Baltimore City (Fells Point), Northwest Baltimore City (Upper Park Heights Ave.), Southwest Baltimore (Catonsville), Dundalk (North Point Blvd), and Glen Burnie (Baltimore Annapolis Blvd.). What the Chiropractors of Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic know and what Allstate recently confirmed is of no surprise to us – that Baltimore metro is the home of the worst drivers in the United States.

Allstate released its most recent Best Driver’s Report. It gathers data each year from over 200 metro areas across the U.S. in order to compare how many years take place between crashes, the relative crash likelihood compared to other ciities, and the number of hard breaking incidents per 1000 miles. Again, as a shock to no one, Baltimore metro ranked dead last in all of the categories. This earns Baltimore metro the dubious honor of being the least safe metro area in which to drive according to Allstate. Let’s look at the statistics: According to Allstate claimants in Baltimore report a claim every 3.8 years (most frequent in the nation) and are 163.2 percent more likely to get into a crash when compared to the national average. Baltimore driver’s also record 29.3 hard breaking incidents (slamming on breaks) per 1000 miles. But we didn’t need to see the data to know the truth: Anyone who drives on 695 knows traffic is always backed up due to an accident.

So let’s look at which cities/metro areas round out the bottom 5:

#196. Glendale California
#197. Worcester, Massachussetts
#198. Washington, DC (which makes Baltimore worse, given that this is almost in the same metro area that we are.
#199. Boston, Massachussetts
#200. Baltimore, MD

And where might be the safest places to drive according to Allstate?

#5. Madison, Wisconsin.
#4. Huntsville, Alabama.
#3. Boise, Idaho.
#2. Kansas City, Kansas
#1. Brownsville, Texas (13.6 years between claims, 26.3% less likely to have a crash compared to national average).

So what does this data tells us that we didn’t already know about Baltimore and Washington, DC? Nothing if you ask me. But then again my team and I at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic treat auto accident injuries such as headaches, neck pain, and back pain everyday. And we take injured patients and get them back to normal as quickly as possible so that they can return to their normal lives.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of a Baltimore, Catonsville, Dundalk, or Glen Burnie auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We’ve got your back on the road to recovery.

Dr. Gulitz