“Pokemon Go” Causing Baltimore Auto Accidents

“Pokemon Go” Causing Baltimore Auto Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore Auto Accident injuries, I thought that by 8 years of clinical practice and nearly four thousand patients, I had seen it all. I can now say that I am seeing things I never would have imagined: video game induced auto accident injuries in Baltimore.

By now we all know what it is. Pokemon, the digital monsters from my childhood, are back with a vengeance taking over our mobile phones and tablets. Seemingly everyone with a mobile internet connection is staring down at their devices as they pursue a digital scavenger hunt in an effort to “collect them all.” Although it sounds cute and innocent, it has been leading to some unforeseeable problems. Most notably, injuries to players are starting to pile up at an alarming rate as participants are so immersed in the virtual game that they become unaware of their surroundings and then either injure themselves or others while playing.

The game uses “augmented reality” to transpose images of these cartoon monsters into every day life. In fact, where I live in Baltimore is right next to a PokeStop so I find myself filling up on pokeballs periodically to help me in my pursuit to “catch them all.” The game is meant to be fun and as a way for casual users to get together, walk, exercise, and explore their surroundings. However, the more aggressive players are pulling out all the stops in an effort to collect elusive pokemon.

In Massachusetts, a man caused a major pile up (multiple car accidents) while attempting to throw PokeBalls to catch a pokemon. Several people had injuries as a result of the crash. The story can be read here.

There are other accounts of players using skateboards to “walk” around their communities faster in order to capture more digital monsters. This has lead to skateboard injuries such as scraped knees, twisted ankles, and even small bone breaks in feet.

To their credit, the makers of the game do warn players to be aware of their surroundings all the time and not to forget that they are, in fact, walking through the real world when they play. But that does not seem to be stopping players from putting themselves and others in harms way in an effort to catch the most digital monsters.

By no means am I suggesting that the game should be removed from the apple store or from Google play. I just think we all need to be more aware of our surroundings. My suspicion is that this will lead to an epidemic of Baltimore car accidents as people attempt to use their cars to travel greater distances in an attempt to catch pokemon.

While I am not suggesting that it is a smart idea to “pokemon and drive”, I do think it is a wise idea to designate a driver if you must play pokemon in a car. Similar to designating a driver for an evening out with alcohol, and similar to how teenagers should be designating a “texter” to communicate on behalf of a driver, I think it is time we consider having a designated “pokemon player” so that any given driver can keep their attention to the road while another car occupant can focus on “catching them all.”

If you, or someone you know, has suffered a Baltimore auto accident injury as a result of Pokemon Go, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Free Consultations vs. New Patient Examinations – What’s The Difference?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients involved in Baltimore auto accidents, I often get asked by prospective patients what the difference is between a free consultation and a new patient examination. That is, a prospective patient will walk through the door and they may not know whether the treatment we provide is right for them and for the injuries. My office is happy to allow for a free 10 minute no-cost, no obligation consultation for patients. The thinking behind this is quite simple – Both parties, the patient, and the provider, want to make sure that there is a condition or series of conditions that we can help prior to beginning the arduous task of contacting insurance companies and filling out boatloads of paperwork. If your tooth hurt, chances are pretty good you already know that you need to see a dentist. But sometimes when people in Baltimore have headaches, neck pain or back pain, they are unsure whether they need to see a Baltimore chiropractor, Baltimore physical therapist, or Baltimore orthopedic surgeon. My staff and I welcome these opportunities to meet prospective patients, offer them our best guess as to what may be going on, and to let the prospective patients know that we either think we can help them or we think that we can’t. These free no-obligation consultations are not high-pressure sales tactics. If we think we can help you because you appear to be presenting with “bread and butter” chiropractic injuries, then we are happy to tell you so, have our front desk staff confirm your chiropractic benefits, and then schedule an appointment for your evaluation and treatment. If, on the other hand, you have conditions that do not fit into our “sweet spot” or your past medical history indicates that chiropractic care may be contraindicated for your condition (if could make you worse, for instance) then we will tell you that as well. Believe me when I tell you that even if our office is not a good fit for you, we are happy to give our two cents about how to go about feeling better and where to turn next.

During a free consultation one of the chiropractors on staff will listen to your complaints and we will give our best estimations as to whether or not chiropractic care is an appropriate treatment option for the condition. Here is where the tricky part comes in. We can’t always say for sure whether or not a patient will be a good fit for the practice, because technically, we are still having a conversation with a “stranger” at this point, and we have not yet entered into a “doctor patient relationship” with a client. That is, during the consultation, we are not examining the client, we are not physically evaluating the client, nor are we x-raying the prospective patient. We are just answering some questions about their condition and trying to determine if it is in the best interest of both parties to move forward with becoming a patient. In the free consultation our “duty” as providers is minimal. We may shake your hand to introduce ourselves and greet a prospective patient, but we are not “yet” your providers. We do not owe you any duties that we might otherwise owe you as a patient, since you are not yet technically a patient. Since that is the case, it is hard to answer “specifics” about an injury since we are not technically evaluating it.

If a patient decides after a consultation that they do want to become a patient, then they return to the waiting room to fill out new patient paperwork, as they would have had they been any type of new patient to the practice. If the office has time on its schedule to see the patient right then and there, then we will see the patient right away. If, on the other hand, the schedule is booked and we do not have time to see the patient that day, they will be offered the option of waiting to be seen as a walk in (with no guarantee that we can see them) or the option of rescheduling for a subsequent day. The choice is theirs and theirs alone.

If a patient or provider decides that a prospective patients is not a good fit for chiropractic care, then they can go on their way. They do not owe us any money and they are under no obligation to return. That is, they just had a discussion with a professional who did not undertake a doctor-patient relationship. The providers do not have to produce any medical record of the encounter and the person can leave, never having become a patient of the practice.

Although there is a fine line between prospective patient (during a consultation) and a new patient (during an evaluation) the line is very important from the provider side. In the first example of a consultation, we do not owe the prospective patient any duties typically owed during a doctor patient relationship. We can’t fail to diagnose an injury or “miss” a diagnosis since technically that “stranger” is not a patient that we owe that duty to. Whereas, once a stranger elects to become a patient, we now have an obligation to provide care for them without falling below the standard, thereby exposing ourselves to malpractice.

Several times in the first four years of my practice I have had patients ask me what constitutes a free-consultation vs. a new patient evaluation. Some have even gone as far as filling out paperwork and asking me to evaluate them and then have been shocked when they are told that they owe us money for services rendered. I hope that this information clears up the difference.

If you are not sure that you would benefit from Chiropractic care in Baltimore and would like to schedule a free no cost no obligation consultation, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Second Location Coming Soon!!

When I opened Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic four years ago in August of 2012 I sought to bring about a combination of the best quality care and most convenient hours for injured citizens of Baltimore City. I hoped that the community would recognize the value in the quality of care that I provided and would reward me with the opportunity to take care of more and more injured patients, whether they just woke up with a stiff neck or back, were injured in social sports, or whether they were injured in a Baltimore auto accident and had whiplash symptoms.

As the referrals grew, so did our staff. We took on more support staff, front desk receptionists, a chiropractic assistant and even a new chiropractor. We recently completed an office expansion to take on another first floor at 2005 Eastern Avenue for medical co-treatment and in-house billing.

At this point it became clear to me that my original mission- to treat and help as many patients as I could was not finished even though we were outgrowing our space. There was an entire market of the community that expressed interest in becoming patients but that could not physically get to our location in southeast Baltimore. After carefully monitoring where these phone calls were coming from for over a year, I decided to take action and bring our services closer to where they may be needed the most.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the location of our second location: Northwest Baltimore City at 6810 Park Heights Ave. #C4, Baltimore, MD 21215. The grand opening date has not yet been determined, as I have to take time to rehab the property in order to live up to my expectations and to that of our current and future patients. I am getting the keys today, and I expect a rehab to take approximately 8-12 weeks.

As for Southeast Baltimore and Fells Point, business will continue as usual. Drs. Erica Wise D.C. and Manpreet Keith D.C. will continue to provide excellent care for acute musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Gulitz will be available for hands-on patient care on Fridays at that location moving forward.

With the deepest level of respect and appreciation we want to say thank you for supporting us and for allowing us to take care of the citizens of this great community. It has truly been an honor and a privilege. We look forward to helping more people moving forward.

Dr. Gulitz

Diminished Value Claims Following Baltimore Auto Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients injured in Baltimore auto accident injuries I have become an expert in not only treating injuries sustained in Baltimore auto accidents (headaches, neck pain, mid back pain, lower back pain, radiating neck pain, radiating leg pain, etc.) but also in understanding how to navigate the process of recovery from injury to settlement/judgement.

One of the least well understood or discussed areas following a Baltimore auto accident injury is the diminished value claim. An injured party whose motor vehicle was struck through no fault of their own can recover from the adverse insurance company the “diminished value” of their motor vehicle following the crash.

It’s actually pretty simple. Let’s say you are driving a car worth $15,000. After it gets rear ended the adverse insurance party has to pay to get it fixed. Let’s say it’s fixed and its physically indistinguishable from how it looked before the Baltimore auto accident. Even in these instances, it is worth less than it would have been had it never been involved in a crash to begin with. In these instances, the non-faulted party can demand from the at-fault insurance company enough money to “bridge the gap” between what it is now worth and what it would have been worth had it never been hit. Maybe the car is only worth $10,000 after it is fixed up. The non-faulted party can make a claim against the adverse insurance for $5,000 of diminished value. If they are successful in recovering the $5,000 in diminished value they can either keep the money if the car is already paid off and they want to continue to drive it, or they can use the money towards a down payment for their next vehicle if they do not want to continue to drive the car after the crash.

The reason why diminished value claims are not well understood is because it typically costs individuals more to bring the lawsuit/demand for the diminished value claim than it is worth. For instance, using the example above, the person making the diminished value claim would need to hire an expert to write a report detailing the diminished value for their vehicle. Between the cost of hiring an expert, demanding money from the adverse insurance company, and potentially suing in small claims court, even those who are aware that they can demand this money do not have the time, energy, or expertise to pursue it correctly.

Fortunately for Baltimore auto accident injury patients, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic can act as a resource for those looking to make diminished value claims. We can refer you to professionals who can help you produce diminished value claims to present to the adverse insurance company. Typically the fees for our Baltimore auto accident injury patients are contingent – that is just like with a personal injury claim where no money has to be paid out upfront, diminished value claims are usually contingent as well. While diminished value claims have nothing to do with healing and recovery, they are nevertheless an important part of recovering and being made whole again following a Baltimore auto accident injury.

If you have been injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident injury, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

New Baltimore Chiropractor To Join Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic

The team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is pleased to announce the addition of a new provider in Fells Point. Dr. Manpreet Keith D.C. will be joining the team this week, alongside Dr. Marc Gulitz D.C. and Dr. Erica Wise D.C. She will help us in our quest to provide the best chiropractic care for those in Baltimore city that have suffered from auto accident injuries (headaches, neck pain, mid back pain, lower back pain) as well as the everyday aches and pains sustained by weekend warriors.

Dr. Keith is a graduate of VCU (Richmond, Virginia), where she received her bachelor of Science in Psychology with a concentration in pre-health sciences. She attended Life Chiropractic College West (Hayward, California) and graduated in December of 2013. Since graduating, Dr. Keith has spent time becoming duly licensed in Virginia and Maryland, and planning a wedding. She was recently married. She has also spent time working in other Chiropractic clinics in Baltimore City. Ultimately she admits that they were just not a good fit for her treatment style.

Dr. Keith will be seeing patients during Dr. Gulitz’s normally scheduled hours which are as follows:

Monday: 3p-7p

Tuesday: 9a-1p 3p-7p

Wednesday: 3p-7p

Thursday: 9a-1p 3p-7p

She will be working closely alongside Drs. Gulitz and Wise over the next few weeks as she gets up to speed on how we do things here. We feel that the addition of a new provider will help us to spend more time without patients, ultimately improving clinical outcomes and customer service. Feel free to come by and say hi when you are in the neighborhood and say hello to Dr. Keith!

Dr. Gulitz