Thanksgiving- The Most Dangerous Driving Holiday

Thanksgiving- The Most Dangerous Driving Holiday

If you are like most Americans you are probably already mentally preparing yourself for an all day festival of catching up with friends and family, eating too much, and watching 10 hours of football on Thursday. Thanksgiving truly is an American holiday that helps us to remember what is important in life beyond the 9-to-5 daily grind. Chances are you will likely be driving to a destination to spend time with your loved ones. Like most major U.S. holidays, time away from work and an increased in the “holiday spirit” usually leads to an increased congestion on the roadways. Coupled with lower gas prices, it is safe to assume that this year will see an inordinate amount of extra cars on the road before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for everyone on the road, this means more accidents, more injuries, and in many cases, more deaths. While many people believe that New Year’s Eve is the most dangerous driving holiday, it is not. The number of fatalities associated with Thanksgiving driving is actually the highest out of all major U.S. holidays. (For those of you interested, the top 5 holidays associated with fatalities due to impaired driving are #5 Christmas, #4 Memorial Day, #3 Independence Day, #2 Labor Day, and #1 Thanksgiving!)

The reason behind the increased number of auto accidents due to Thanksgiving is more than just a “volume game.” Yes, there will be more vehicles on the road. But there will also be a lot of impaired driving, late night driving, and navigating unfamilar roads. After all, how many of us are working Wednesday and then driving that evening to get to our destination? Chances are its about all of us. If it can be avoided, I would recommend leaving Tuesday night and skipping work Wednesday (provided you don’t get fired!), or leaving in the wee hours on Thursday morning. After all, you will get to spend another night in your own comfortable bed. As someone that spends a lot of time traveling on the day of Thanksgiving, the roads are usually wide open.

The Red Cross recently put together a list of recommendations to help ease Thanksgiving travel and to hopefully reduce the likelihood of there being car emergencies. Here is their list:

1. Inspect your vehicle before you leave – make sure it is in good working order.

2. Refill all fluids- fuel, windshield washer fluid, engine oil if low.

3. Designate a safe driver – Not even one drink should be allowed. After all, police will be cracking down.

4. Get extra rest – Take an extra hour nap to be extra alert. Leaving the morning of should eliminate this problem.

5. Obey the rules of the road – Slow down in work zones, designate a texter, and observe posted speed limits.

6. Give yourself time – Allow for delays due to congestion. Take frequent breaks and don’t let road rage get the best of you. We are all in this together!

7. Use headlights – It makes it easier for you to see and for others to see you.

So while you sit at your desk reading this blog post and wishing you were hundreds of miles away eating turkey and wearing pants with an expandable waist line, just remember, we are all in this together. Please, slow down, give yourself time, and make good decisions.

For the less fortunate who are injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident on Thanksgiving and require our services for headaches, neck pain, and back pain, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic will be happy to help rehab you from your auto accident injuries following Thanksgiving. Please call (443) 842-5500 to schedule an appointment. Happy Holidays!

Dr. Gulitz

Automobile Insurance Explained By a Baltimore Chiropractor

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that continues to spend the majority of my time treating Baltimore auto accident patients with headaches, neck pain and back pain, I often get asked to explain various aspects of an automobile insurance policy to an injured patient when they walk in the door to my office. While it is true that I am not an auto insurance salesman, nor am I an attorney giving legal advice, it is important for consumers to understand what they are and are not buying when they purchase automobile insurance in Maryland. If you have questions about any of the coverages after reading this blog post please contact your auto insurance representative. If you do not have one and would like me to refer you to some knowledgeable professionals, please let me know. In no particular order here are the coverages that you are typically offered for a Maryland automobile insurance policy:

1) Bodily Injury. This is the amount of liability that the insurance company provides you in cases of an at fault accident. State minimum level in Maryland is $30k/$60k. That means that if someone injures you while you are in another vehicle or are a passenger in this vehicle, the driver of the at fault vehicle will be insured by their insurance company for UP TO $30k/person injured not to exceed $60k per accident. If there were 2 injured clients they could each attempt to recover up to $30k apiece. For drivers that have significant assets: businesses, homes, cars, etc, it usually makes sense to purchase more than the legal minimal amount of insurance. Most people carry amounts of $100k/$300k, and still some carry more. Generally speaking, it is not that much more money to carry significantly more liability insurance. When calculating how much you need, don’t just look at the price of the premium. Look at how many assets you would like to protect in the unfortunate circumstance that someone gets injured by you in your motor vehicle.

2) Property Damage. This is how much money an insurance company will pay on your behalf to fix whatever you broke. Typically it is another vehicles car or bumper, but in some instances, it can be homes, barns, light posts, etc. I believe the state minimum for property damage (PD) is $10k, but most insurance sales people recommend more than that “just in case.”

3) Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. Mayland state law dictates that all drivers must purchase this coverage. It exists to help an injured driver get access to money in the instances where a) the at-fault driver is uninsured and does not carry any insurance or b) has liability insurance, but not in an amount that is enough for you to fully recover from your injuries and pain and suffering. While uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages are separate entities, they tend to be grouped into the same field on your auto insurance policy. Maryland requires that drivers purchase at least the state minimum $30/$60k UM/UIM Policy. However, what most people do not know is that you can purchase an amount up to and matching what you purchased for liability coverage. Let’s look at an example:

I carry 100/300k liability coverage to protect me from a loss if I injure someone when I am driving. I have to by law carry 30/60k UM/UIM coverage in addition in case I get injured and the person that injures me doesn’t have insurance or if they do but it isn’t enough to help me recover. Maryland mandates that you carry AT LEAST the minimum policy, but you can extend it to an amount that equals, but does not exceed, your liability coverage. In this instance, I should elect to pay for UM/UIM coverage in an amount of 100/300. So the underlying advantage of buying higher limits of liability is that it affords you the option to buy more UM/UIM.

4) Personal Injury Protection (PIP): I have spoken about this in a few past blog posts. This is money used to pay for all reasonable, customary, and usual expenses arising from injury in a Maryland automobile accident, regardless of fault. So whether you were driving a car that caused a crash or were a victim of the crash, or were a pedestrian or bicyclist, you could recover from the PIP coverage component of an automobile insurance policy. PIP is written in amounts that vary from $2,500 to $10,000 and is mandatory to be offered to anyone purchasing automobile insurance in Maryland. It can be waived at the time of the underwriting of the insurance policy. PIP can also be used by an injured client to recover for lost wages while they are incapacitated after a motor vehicle collision. It is really an invaluable source of money for the injured client. The other nice thing is it is really cheap. Most people purchase about 2,500 of PIP and spend about 50-70/year for the option to use it. I purchases 10,000 PIP for my automobile policy and it only cost me $101 for the year. The coverage costs pennies but is well worth it.

4b) MedPay. This is in addition to PIP and is only available on a few auto insurance policies in Maryland. Similar to PIP MedPay will pay medical providers, chiropractors, physical therapists, and hospitals for care rendered as a result of your collision. There is no wage loss component however. Some policies will allow you to purchase both PIP and MedPay. Many people decline this coverage if they have health insurance. But keep in mind, health insurance can decline to cover you for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision and if they do not, you are responsible for a copay on each visit. MedPay does not require a copay and does not need to be repaid at the termination of your treatment.

5) Comprehensive. This is the amount of money your car is insured for (up to the value of the vehicle) for instances OUTSIDE OF COLLISIONS where the vehicle was damaged. This includes, but is not limited to, acts of god, striking animals while driving, theft, arson, and being stolen. Every auto policy has comprehensive on it and it can be expensive since most cars get damaged a lot when any of the above events occur. As a pro tip, you can reduce your expense for the comprehensive component of the automobile policy if you raise your deductible (deductible is how much money you have to pay out of pocket before the insurance will pick up the tab).

6) Collision. This is to pay for damage to your vehicle in instances where your car actually collides (hence the name) with another surface – be it another car, or a wall, or a tree. As with comprehensive, it comes with a deductible that you would have to pay before the insurance company would pick up the tab.

7) There are a slew of other optional coverages that you can purchase for your automobile. These usually include reimbursement for towing a vehicle, rental car reimbursement, trip interruption, and emergency transportation. These are not mandatory but may well be worth the cost.

As I said above, this was by no means meant to be an exhaustive compendium of all auto insurance coverages in Maryland, but rather an overview just to get the conversation started. I understand that auto insurance is not a “sexy” topic, but one that drivers need to better understand so that they can better protect themselves in cases of an accident.

I would recommend that you contact your auto insurance salesperson if you have specific questions about what your current policy covers or does not cover, as I am not legally allowed to give you advice on what to purchase or what you are or are not currently covered for.

If you have been injured as a result of a motor vehicle collision in Baltimore and require treatment, please consider Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic for all of your auto accident injury treatment needs. You can call us at (443) 842-5500 to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Gulitz

Which Type of Mattress is Best For Me?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating headaches, neck pain, and back pain in Baltimore, I often get asked questions about mattress types and which option is the best for a particular patient. I wanted to use this blog post to talk about the most common types of mattresses so that I can shed some light on the subject. The three most common types of mattresses (in no particular order) are traditional innerspring, air mattress/bladder system, and memory foam.

The first type of mattress is the traditional innerspring mattress. These are the mattresses that we grew up sleeping on. They differ based on size and spring coil count. Originally these mattresses were made to be flipped and/or rotated every few months to help balance the pressure on the springs. Newer innerspring mattresses are meant not to have to be rotated. Most people (I would estimate 75% of my Baltimore auto accident and Baltimore chiropractic patients) sleep on a traditional innerspring mattress. When new these mattresses are great and provide plenty of support. Overtime as the springs compress these mattresses become less supportive. Many patients have a combination traditional innerspring mattress with some form of pillow topper. The pillow topper helps the sleeper not “feel” the springs in the mattress and can make for a more comfortable mattress. Personally, I have never really liked innerspring mattresses as I find that they produce too many pressure points and that they deform over time.

The second type of mattress is the air mattress/bladder system. I am not talking about the $20 air mattress that we all have in our basement for an unexpected guest to crash on for a weekend. These are the “sleep comfort adjustable beds” that we see commecials for. Typically they demonstrate a couple where the husband tosses and turns all night and the wife next to him sleeps comfortably undisturbed. The idea is that with two different bladder systems that can be filled or emptied of air both partners can sleep comfortably regardless of their individual preferences for mattress firmness. I have no experience sleeping on this type of mattress, but my parents sleep on it and from what I can tell they seem to enjoy it.

The final type of mattress is the memory foam mattress. This is the latest type of mattress to hit the market. Memory foam is a formulated material that is meant to compress and absorb pressure. Two common manufacturers of these type of mattresses are Tempurpedic and Casper. People with a lot of acute neck and back pain as well as people who are heavier tend to prefer these mattresses since there are no springs to compress or to cause pressure points. As someone who grew up sleeping on traditional innerspring mattresses, once I made the switch to a memory foam mattress, I became a fan for life. I get a better nights sleep, fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer on these mattresses than I ever did on a traditional innerspring mattress. But that’s just me.

Many Baltimore auto accident patients ask me if they should change out their mattress once they have been involved in a Baltimore auto accident or Baltimore work related injury. I generally urge them not to switch out their mattress. Most mattresses are meant to last 10-15 years with an average use of 8 hours per day. Unless your mattress is approaching the end of its lifestyle it is probably not worth it to switch. Rather, try purchasing a pillow topper or a memory foam topper to place on top to give it a few more years of use.

Further, mattresses are very expensive. I have seen them cost in excess of $3,000-$5,000. Over the lifetime of the purchase, a mattress is a worthwhile investment. However, I don’t think you need to spend that much. I recently purchased a Casper mattress (King size) that was shipped to my house for under $1,000. They come with a 100 day love it or lose it guarantee, in which if you do not like it they will take it back and give you a complete refund. I am personally very happy with mine.

Research shows that neither a firm nor a soft mattress is best. That is, it all depends on the individual. Whichever mattress you can get to sleep on quickly and stay asleep for 7-9 hours a day is the best one for you.

If you have any questions about mattress types please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500.

Dr. Gulitz

Contrast Enhanced MRI Following Baltimore Auto Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating auto accident injuries, such as headaches, neck pain, and back pain, it is not unusual for me to treat patients that have extremity injuries as well. Often times a patient’s knee can bash against a dash board or center console, or a shoulder or hip can be injured due to shear forces resulting from a seat or lap belt. Just like with neck and back injuries following Baltimore auto accidents, these injuries are treated conservatively with passive modalities, stretching, and strengthening activities over the course of several weeks to months. If a patient does not improve as quickly as expected, it is not uncommon for me to refer these patients for advanced imaging such as MRI.

As most people are aware, MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It is a form of electromagnetism that helps to three-dimensionally render a patient’s body from the inside. We can look at live anatomy and determine if there is altered morphology or injury. MRIs are considered the gold standard of advanced imaging. There is no radiation to the subject and the images are usually crystal clear.

However, MRIs are not perfect. Some structures do not appear well on standard MRI imaging. In these instances contrast-enhanced MRI may be used to better image a structure. In my daily life as a Baltimore Chiropractor that treats Baltimore auto accident patients, contrast-enhanced MRIs are most commonly used when imaging shoulders and hips.

I recently had a patient that had hip pain following a Baltimore auto accident injury. We had been treating her for a few weeks. Her headaches, neck pain, and lower back pain had been improving with therapy, but her hip remained a daily, constant complaint. I referred the young lady for a hip MRI, with the results being a negative MRI! Clinically it did not make sense. Based on her lack of significant improvement with therapy and her strangely negative MRI, we decided to try a contrast-enhanced MRI study.

Sure enough, we found some injury that we suspected all along. She had a labral tear in her hip that was causing a partial dislocation of her hip joint whenever she squatted or jogged. While most of the time a normal MRI is appropriate, if clinical indication suspects an injury that MRI may have missed, a repeat contrast enhanced MRI may find “hidden pathology.” That was the case for this young lady.

History, physical exam, and clinical intuition based on experience all lead providers to decision making. This particular young lady would have been stuck with years of hip pain had we not gone further and investigated her hip with a contrast enhanced MRI. Now she is scheduled for surgery which will hopefully fix the problem moving forward.

If you, or someone you know, would benefit from a second-opinion regarding injuries sustained in a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

The Application of PIP in Pedestrian Accidents and Bicycle Accidents In Baltimore, MD

As avid readers of my blog are already aware, I am a chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore auto accident injury patients. Typically these patients are occupants in a vehicle that either hits or gets hit by another vehicle. In these injury cases, the occupants of the vehicle have access to PIP under Maryland law. If you’ve read my other blog posts, you know that PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is a Maryland first party benefit for injured claimants involved in Baltimore auto accidents. The injured claimant has to open a PIP claim with their auto insurance carrier and then they qualify for PIP benefits. For those who may not have read my previous blog post, PIP is used both for economic/wage loss (up to 85% of wages) and to pay for medical and chiropractic care following an auto accident injury, regardless of fault. PIP is typically written in the amounts of $2,500, $5,000, and $10,000 but can be waived in writing at the time of underwriting.

During the summer as the weather gets better we typically see other injured patients/claimants that have access to PIP although they are not technically seated within a motor vehicle during the time of their injuries. Specifically, pedestrians and bicyclists fall under this category. Provided that they are following the rules at the moment of their injuries (i.e. pedestrians are walking within a cross-walk or on a side walk) and are not in any ways contributing towards their injuries, then both pedestrians and bicyclists have access to PIP under Maryland law.

Whether one of my patients in an injured bicyclist or an injured pedestrian, if they were struck by another motor vehicle, they have four sources of benefits to pay for their injuries. The order is as follows:

1) PIP of the faulted vehicle
2) PIP of their own auto insurance policy (provided they also have a car and elected to purchase PIP)
3) PIP of a family member over age 16 that they live with (provided that family member has PIP)
4) The bicyclist’s and/or pedestrian’s health insurance

I find this rule in Maryland to be particularly interesting. Obviously no one who is riding a bicycle or walking as a pedestrian wants to be injured in a bicycle vs. motor vehicle collision or a pedestrian vs. auto collision, but the state law makers have made it very easy for these injured patients to have access to medical care in these instances. I find it peculiar that although pedestrians and bicyclists are not required to apply for a license to ride a bicycle or walk (and therefore are not required to by insurance to do so) they can claim PIP benefits from the automobile that injured them. That is a benefit that is not the same in cases of Baltimore auto accidents between two motor vehicle collisions. It’s as if the pedestrian or bicyclist is “inside” the car that struck them at the moment of impact.

While many pedestrians and bicyclists choose to engage in these activities for exercise and socialization, some who are injured do not have their own automobile insurance with PIP, and as such, without this rule would have no way to pay for their lost wages had it not been for this law.

As with Baltimore auto accident injury claims, if an injured party did not cause or contribute to his injuries as a pedestrian or bicyclists and they choose to open a PIP claim, their auto premium rates will not go up as a result.

The message is clear: speak to your auto insurance salesman. Ask them to review your auto declarations page. Make sure that you have PIP and make sure that you are purchasing as much as they will sell you. It costs pennies and is worth thousands. Hopefully you’ll never need to use it, but if you do, it is worth it.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore bicycle or Baltimore pedestrian accident and have questions about how you will pay for your injuries, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz