Accidents and Injuries

FUELING THE PERSONAL INJURY LAWSUIT MACHINE

Just as the way some iconic advertising campaigns might create among us a unique cultural bond, TV watchers and internet surfers today share a common experience. We’re all aware of – and annoyed by – personal injury lawyer advertisements, “If you’ve ever been injured, call now for a free consultation…”

Personal injury lawyer advertising is a huge presence on our TV screens and computer searches. It’s also the most visible element of the vicious cycle of lawsuit abuse in this country. Where does the money come from for these ads? Personal injury lawyers get rich filing lawsuits that are often weak on facts or fueled by imbalanced laws. The bounty they reap from these lawsuits goes into the huge volume of injury ads that we see constantly, so they can recruit more plaintiffs for more questionable lawsuits.

About $900 million was spent last year on personal injury ads on TV alone, according to a U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform report. Online, more than 90 percent of the top 25 most expensive Google search terms are related to litigation, according to the report, and the high prices are bid up by high advertiser demand.

Why advertise 24/7 for lawsuit plaintiffs? To create “class members” for personal injury lawyers to bring mass tort lawsuits. What happens to the millions of plaintiffs signed up by the ads and web links? They are bought and sold by the lawsuit generators as if they were cattle or corn futures. Who regulates these ads to make sure they are truthful and ethical? As you might have guessed from looking at the ads, they are barely regulated at all – but they should be!

This aggressive plaintiff recruitment comprises just part of the cycle of lawsuit abuse – lawsuit friendly laws make personal injury lawyers rich as they file more and more lawsuits, and lawsuit riches buys nearly a billion in TV ads to gin up more plaintiffs and wealth-producing lawsuits. The rest of the cycle of lawsuit abuse is the personal injury lawyers putting their money into political campaigns and supporting pro-lawsuit politicians who help to preserve the imbalanced laws – and try to create new ones. Seem a little complicated? It’s not, and we’ve laid it out with a few graphics here.

So the next time you see a personal injury ad that is giving you advice about what to do, remember these three things:
You shouldn’t believe everything you see in the largely unregulated world of personal injury lawyer advertising.
Personal injury lawyer advertising can mislead and scare consumers on important issues, such as their health care.
Personal injury lawsuits are often about making those lawyers rich, not making victims whole.

ANYTHING GOES WITH PERSONAL INJURY ADS

While our country has regulatory agencies whose mission it is to ensure that advertisements are accurate and straightforward for American consumers, one group evades advertising regulation: personal injury lawyers. This group is flooding the airwaves and internet with ads making unsubstantiated or hyperbolic claims to lure potential plaintiffs into lawsuits that make these personal injury lawyers millions.

We’re all familiar with the ominous ads that warn about health dangers or a long list of side effects and promising cash compensation to patients. Yet these sensationalized lawsuit ads do not disclose the low probability of experiencing an adverse health effect. That’s because lawsuit ads are not subject to the same level of oversight for accuracy and disclosure as advertising for other industries.

The disparity is clear when you look at how strictly other ads discussing health treatments are regulated. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates all consumer product ads that where company’s product can affect consumers’ health, insisting that these ads must:
be truthful and non-deceptive
have evidence to back up claims
not be unfair, and
include only accurate testimonials that disclose any information that might influence buyers

None of these requirements exist for lawsuit ads, which largely can say whatever they want about the effects of health treatments or products. Without regulation, personal injury lawyers can dramatize product risks while acknowledging none of the benefits.

Additionally, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) requires that product claim ads must present the benefits and risks of a prescription drug in a balanced fashion. Companies are required to list the most significant risks of the drug. Similar to the FTC, the FDA requires that these ads must not be false or misleading in any way.

These restrictions do not apply to lawsuit ads, which are often intentionally misleading. There is a rigorous testing and claim substantiation that drugs must go through for all marketable claims, but no such process exists for lawsuit ads. Thus, we see ads with unsubstantiated claims from studies personal injury lawyers may have commissioned or from doctors who are on their payroll. That simply doesn’t seem balanced.

Even cosmetic ads are regulated more strictly than lawsuit ads. Cosmetic ads are subject to the same advertising regulations that the FTC uses for other industries (i.e., fair, backed by evidence, non-deceptive, etc.) These regulations exist for a reason, and personal injury lawyer ads should be held to the same standards as demanded of other advertisers.

There is harm in allowing lawsuit ads to continue to make misleading claims – it can be can be dangerous for consumers, who are repeatedly hearing these wild, unregulated proclamations. American consumers are inundated with personal injury lawyer advertisements – we can’t escape them. In fact, nationwide, personal injury lawyers spend up to $75 million each month on this advertising.

As a result of this onslaught of panic-inducing ads, patients are increasingly discontinuing health care treatments that their physician believes would provide them with significant benefits and pose little risk. Americans are listening to unregulated ads instead of their doctors, which has doctors concerned. That’s why the American Medical Association, an organization representing more than 200,000 physicians and medical students, recommended that lawsuit advertisements come with a warning that patients should first consult with a physician before discontinuing medications.

These advertising tactics are intended to generate lawsuits and enrich personal injury lawyers. Consumers deserve, and should demand, greater responsibility and disclosure in lawsuit advertising. For now, consumers must recognize that these ads are not always accurate, and personal injury lawyers have a vested interested in scaring audiences into lawsuits. Don’t fall for it, and don’t get trapped in their web.

How Big Data Is Big Bucks for Personal Injury Lawyers

Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse shared our take on big data and the increase in certain lawsuits in a recent letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News. It also serves as a good reminder: “Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor.”

Texas trial lawyers have a history of searching for ways to make millions of dollars at the expense of our health care system, ultimately reducing access to health care, driving up the cost of consumer goods and limiting job creation.

The recent story, “Health insurers fear Texas trial lawyers are seeking billions, but attorneys say that’s hype” (March 30), shows how the combination of big data and health care can create a gold mine for personal injury lawyers.

So, when sick or injured consumers get a call from a lawyer, not a doctor, Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse is urging caution through a new Sick of Lawsuits (www.sickoflawsuits.org) campaign. The public needs to be aware of the millions spent on misleading television and online advertising.

“Don’t let a lawyer be your doctor,” is sage advice and something TALA is working to ensure that Texans hear and act on. What lawsuit ads don’t say can be harmful. When it comes to lawsuits involving a person’s health, consumers should examine the source carefully.

Jennifer Harris, Austin, Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse (as published by the Dallas Morning News)

"Auto Injuries: Neck Pain & Chiropractic Treatment
Automobile accidents are the most common cause of whiplash. Any type of accelerated motion that thrusts the head forward and then backwards with extreme force can lead to whiplash. Sports accidents can also cause whiplash-associated injuries.
An unpredicted head jolt can damage the complex structures of the cervical spine, leaving tendons and ligaments intensely irritated and inflamed. The tendons and ligaments as well as other tissues of the neck may become overly stretched and torn.

A whiplash type injury may be suspected if the individual involved in an automobile accident experiences the following symptoms: neck pain and stiffness; worsening pain with movement; loss of range of motion in the neck; headaches, most often starting at the base of the skull; tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back or arms; tingling or numbness in the arms, fatigue and dizziness. Other individual’s may experience: blurred vision; ringing in the ears; sleep disturbances; irritability; difficulty concentrating; memory problems; and even depression. While these are some of the most common symptoms of whiplash, they may also suggest the presence of another type of injury or condition resulting from the automobile accident.

Thus, it’s essential to visit a qualified healthcare professional who can properly identify a whiplash injury and offer the required treatment to eliminate the resulting pain and symptoms.

Apart from assessing the doctor’s experience and qualifications, the victim of an automobile accident must primarily consider their geographical location and the type of insurance they are covered by when deciding on the type of doctor to visit following a whiplash type injury. Other factors that should influence the affected individual’s decision include whether they are represented by an attorney and whether they are living in a state where PIP, or personal injury protection, is mandatory.



Whiplash Injury Practitioners
People who’ve sustained injuries from auto accidents fail to receive the kind of medical care they require. It has been previously determined that the outcome of the patient’s rehabilitation depends on the type of doctor they receive care from.

Many individuals who’ve been involved in an automobile accident, regardless of the severity of the collision, will generally visit the emergency room, or ER, to have their injuries evaluated. The majority of ERs are designed to take patients out of life threatening situations. First, they immediately assess any visible injuries, such as open wounds and broken bones, treating them effectively on the spot. They may even prescribe medications to temporarily relieve the painful symptoms following a traffic collision. However, many victims are not treated for their whiplash injuries. The trained specialists from the ER, provide first-aid, X-rays and medications to remove individuals from life-threatening situations but they don’t readily treat soft-tissue injuries like whiplash. From there, patients are sent to see their primary care physician, or PCP, to assess the rest of their injuries, yet, they may still face hardships to finally receive the proper care they deserve for their injuries.
Primary Care Injury Specialists and Whiplash
Many primary care physicians do not have the full qualifications in treating automobile accident injuries. Many of these doctors may even deny patients treatment. Whiplash associated disorders have been misunderstood in the medical field and many doctors believe whiplash is not a legitimate injury. However, those whom are suffering from whiplash can account for how painful it really is.

Other doctors refuse treatment to whiplash patients because they may not accept any kind of 3rd party billing, a paying method where the doctor seeing the car accident victim has to bill the party at fault’s insurance company or utilize PIP or med pay to receive compensation. This is a commonly well-known reason for denial of treatment as a large number of primary care physicians, or PCPs, still don’t have the required authorizations to accept 3rd party billing.

Besides primary care physicians, medical doctors, orthopedics, chiropractors and physical therapists are several types of qualified healthcare professionals that specialize on treating automobile accident injuries such as whiplash. Among these, chiropractic treatment is the most popular, alternative treatment option for treating various soft tissue injuries or conditions.
Chiropractic Treatment for Car Wrecks
Many people from the legal and medical industry dismiss seeking a chiropractor for auto accident injury treatment. However, the fact is that a chiropractors are some of the only doctors who offer therapeutic treatments to accident victims. Treatment offered by medical doctors might include the use of drugs, although in many cases, they may also recommend physical therapy. This automatically highlights the importance of chiropractic care for whiplash victims because chiropractic care and physical therapy are very similar forms of treatment.

Whenever an individual who’s been involved in an automobile accident visits a chiropractor and complains of pain in the neck, the medical specialist will carry out a series of tests to determine whether the patient has suffered whiplash. Instead of focusing solely on the specific injury, chiropractors are trained to inspect the affected individual’s entire spine. Aside from soft tissue injuries like whiplash, chiropractic doctors may also check for: disc trauma or injury, tightness or tenderness, restricted mobility, muscle spasms, joint injuries, ligament injuries, posture and spinal alignment. They may also analyze the patient’s gait.

Besides checking for the above, chiropractors might also request X-rays and MRI of the patient’s spine in order to find out whether the spine features any degenerative changes which might have developed before the accident. To offer the best possible treatment, it is extremely important to determine which problems existed prior to the accident and which ones resulted from the accident. In most cases, insurance companies may argue that every single injury in the victim’s body is preexisting. This makes the role of the chiropractor considerably important as they will make sure to document all the previous and new injuries separately to ensure the insurance company pays for the patient’s treatment. In addition, the evaluation performed by the chiropractor also allows them to create the most effective treatment plan for each individual whiplash victim.
Main Stages of Care
The leading concern for chiropractors who treat whiplash-associated disorders involve alleviating inflammation in the neck. Chiropractors often recommend ice therapy, or the application of ice pack against the affected area, multiple times a day. This remedy is capable of reducing both pain and inflammation. Once the inflammation subsides, they often carry out a variety of manual therapeutic techniques to restore and increase the individual’s strength, flexibility and mobility.

The kind of chiropractic treatment the individual will require depends largely on the severity of the whiplash encountered. However, it has been previously determined that the majority of individual’s with whiplash find spinal manipulations useful. The most common chiropractic treatment techniques involve, spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, to carefully re-align the structures of the spine and help reduce symptoms. The following spinal techniques are also used to treat whiplash injuries: Instrument-assisted treatment, which involves the use of handheld instruments to provide a gentle massage by applying force onto the spine without utilizing any kind of thrust. 

Instrument-assisted chiropractic therapy is used mostly to treat older patients with degenerative joints; flexion-distraction, this technique involves the use of a non-thrusting motions, best described as a slow pumping action; specific spinal manipulation, this therapy involves the use of a mild thrusting technique and is mostly used for restoring motion to the affected joints. Specific spinal manipulation helps stretch the soft tissues, which makes the job of restoring motion to the affected areas of the spine easier; instrument-assisted chiropractic therapy, also known as the Graston Technique, is used during this form of chiropractic therapy to perform repetitive strokes on the injured body part; therapeutic massage, performed to ease muscle tension and stress in the injured region; interferential electrical stimulation, where a patient undergoing this type of therapy will see the chiropractor passing electrical current at a very low frequency through their body. This low frequency current helps stimulate the muscles and reduces inflammation; trigger point therapies, as the name suggests, involves the application of direct pressure onto specific points to alleviating muscle tension; and finally ultrasound therapy, capable of decreasing stiffness, pain, and muscle spasms in the affected areas. When ultrasound is passed through the patient’s muscle tissues, it warms up the treated region and increases blood circulation.
Neck Trauma and Auto Injury

Chiropractic Treatments
Ultimately, chiropractors can help victims of whiplash in many ways. These health care providers can ensure that an individual’ whiplash and its associated symptoms may subside completely. They always make sure to create a patient-specific treatment plan to make the process of recovery simpler for every individual.

Other than recommending immediate treatment for reducing the acute pain and inflammation, the chiropractor might additionally recommend a series of stretches and exercises, to help speed up the rehabilitation process as well as help increase the individual’s strength, flexibility and mobility.

Whiplash injuries, when left untreated, can cause severe complications. If you or a loved one have been involved in an automobile accident, visit a chiropractor immediately. By being prompt, you can even reduce your recovery time significantly. That’s not all; the chiropractor will also provide the required assistance to your lawyer, proving that the injury resulting from the accident wasn’t a preexisting injury or condition.

When you are injured in a car accident, you must get acquainted with your rights as soon as possible to receive the proper compensation and treatment for your specific situation. There is no such thing as a simple car crash.

Certain injuries or conditions which may have developed following an automobile accident may become chronic or permanent if left untreated. If an individual is experiencing neck stiffness or headaches after a traffic collision, it’s absolutely wrong to assume that this will subside in a few days. A minor discomfort could turn out to be a more serious complication.

Often, people injured in auto accidents develop scar tissue that remains with them throughout the rest of their lives and without the necessary treatments or exercises, these can become stiff and greatly limit an individual’s ability to move properly. The above issues generating from a car accident show how important it is for people to seek immediate legal and medical help. Chiropractors are known for their expertise in managing soft tissue injuries and the resulting chronic and traumatic pain; as a result, they are often considered to be the best healthcare professionals to consult after a car accident.