I care about you and this is stuff that not all people know or think about. Once you read it, you'll feel better knowing you are prepared, and it just might save you and your family some significant stress and pain or worse.

It seems that just about everyone has a story to tell about an auto accident. Unfortunately, this time of year as the days are shorter, and the roads get wetter, and when more people than ever are "driving while texting," the risks on the road go way up. Car accidents often fall into that "it will never happen to me" category, yet the reality is that it often does. Over the years I have had "it " happen to me three times, and have treated literally hundreds of injured people at my Sacramento CA Chiropractic clinic who had it happen to them as well.

I want to share some of what we've learned about how to prevent accident injuries and what to do if you have an accident. Please share it with others and take some action with my few suggestions. It may save you a lot of time, money, and trouble. Heck, print it out, and stick it in your glove box! That way, if it happens, despite the stress of it all, you can do things right.

Auto Accident Injuries in Sacramento CA

First of all, let's look at the prevention of injury. Where the rubber meets the road is of course, where the rubber meets the road - Good tires. They are vital. I can't say enough about this one. When the roads are slick, your stopping distance goes up dramatically if your tires are bald! The only thing maybe worse than getting rear-ended out on the road is to rear-end someone else. Then you'll have a whiplash and a potential lawsuit to deal with!

The next thing to look at is the position of your head restraint. It does no good if it isn't directly behind your head to prevent the rapid hyperextension of your head and neck if you get rear-ended. Also, wear your three-point seat belt. The last I checked, children (or grandchildren), up to 80 pounds, must now be secured in appropriate booster seats. Improper belting is very dangerous for children.

Next is preparation for if and when it happens to you. The biggest and most important thing here is to have the best insurance you can afford. While I'm not your insurance agent or attorney, I can make some recommendations. The most important part is the medical payments coverage. Make sure you have this coverage. Too often, people choose not to pay that extra 20-30 dollars for medical payments coverage because they figure that if they are injured, their regular health insurance will take care of them.

The problem is that regular health insurance, particularly HMOs, will often make you dance through hoops to get taken care of properly and who feels like dancing when you've got a whiplash! For example, if you have Kaiser, you will not have easy access to chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, etc.

With medical payments coverage, you can choose to go to any licensed provider and get fixed-up properly, without the HMO hassles. If you need a special test such as a MRI, a CT scan, nerve tests or need to see a specialist, the medical payments coverage may give you many more options with full coverage and no co-pays, etc. The other things that are usually covered include in-home care, an ambulance ride, or heaven-forbid, a helicopter ride to the hospital. Bottom-line, get medical payments coverage of at least $5000. I carry $25,000 and it only costs about $48 a year.

Next, make sure you have good limits on your under-insured or uninsured motorist coverage. Many drivers these days are uninsured or have low liability limits! Make sure you are protected if one of them injures you.

It's strange, but just in the last week, I have had three different people mention that they now have cameras installed on their cars. It seems a bit over-the-top, but consider that on L.A. county alone, there were over 20,000 hit-and-run accidents last year. LAPD reports that only one in five are ever caught. I'm not sure what the numbers are here in Sacramento, but probably not great.  We have seen many folks who have had it happen, unfortunately.

So, like the Boy Scouts, we have to Be Prepared!

Tips for Being Prepared

Lastly, if it happens to you, make sure you do the following:

1. Stay calm. Protect the passengers in your car. Call 911 if there are injured people. Set flares out if necessary and do not leave the scene.
2. Exchange documents. Do not discuss the accident with anyone except a police or CHP officer. Dont blame anyone, including yourself.
3. Facts to provide: Give only your name, address, license and license plate numbers, name of the registered owner of the car and your insurance policy information.  Use your smart phone to take pictures of all of these things if you can.
4. Facts to collect: Write down the drivers name, address, license number, date of birth, phone number(s) and insurance policy information. Keep in mind that the driver may not be the owner. Get that information as well. Snap a few pictures with your smartphone of the people involved, the cars, etc.
5. Injured parties: Seek information from police for all injured parties involved. Write down their names, addresses, dates of birth and extent of injuries.
6. Witnesses: Write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of any people who saw the accident, but weren't involved.
7. Take note of the make, body style, year and license number of the other vehicles and the extent of their damage.
8. Make a note of the time and date and weather conditions of the accident, as well as a diagram of the location.
9. Report the accident. Call the police immediately if there are suspected injuries. Insist on a police report and call your insurance company. If there is damage to any vehicle, more than about $750, you must also report it to the DMV. Find out for sure.
10. Seek proper care if you suspect you are injured. It's better to be safe than sorry. With the stress of an accident, injuries are sometimes overlooked. Be aware that an emergency physicians job is to evaluate and treat potentially life-threatening injuries. You may be discharged from the ER with some pain medications and instructions to see your regular doctor or chiropractor.

Don't delay and do yourself a favor by having your chiropractor do a thorough examination. Chiropractors are excellent at helping you heal properly without residual pain and dysfunction.

These steps can help you avoid many of the challenges you may face as you recover from an injury accident. In many cases, it is also helpful to consult an attorney who specializes in personal injury matters.

Insurance claims involving liability can be complex. Please call our clinic if you have any questions. We're here to help. Call (916) 485-5433.

Feel free to forward this to your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Gregg Anderson, D.C.