*In the State of New Jersey, we have a NO FAULT law. This is to protect you from having to wait years to know the outcome of a lawsuit if someone caused your injury. Or not. In any event, your OWN insurance MUST cover your claims. Pursuant to State Statutes your insurance premiums may NOT be raised for any reason to do with your medical bills resulting from your accident. Thus it does NOT matter if you were at fault or not in the accident. You premiums MAY be raised only if the accident is considered by the carrier (the carriers have a procedure for determining this themselves) to be an "at fault" accident, whether you have $1.00 or $1,000,000.00 in medical bills.

WARNING: You have only TEN days from the date of the accident to get care without having to obtain a pre-authorization from your auto carrier. PLEASE call us right away!

If the ten days have elapsed...because you did not realize that you were hurt and needed help, please contact us ANYWAY.... ASAP, so that we can process all the paperwork required to get you covered.

If you were not driving, or if you did not own a vehicle at the time of the accident, then you MUST be covered by one of the following:

A. If NEITHER you, nor anyone residing with you (related to you by blood or marriage) at the time of the accident owned a car, then and only then the insurance for the owner of the vehicle in which you were riding at the time of the accident must cover you. You will need to sign a legal affidavit of no insurance to this effect for us to process a claim in this way.

B. If ANYONE residing with you (related to you by blood or marriage) at the time of the accident owned a car, then THEIR insurance MUST be billed for your services, and remember, their premiums cannot be raised because such an accident cannot be construed as "at fault" for them!

Example: If your grand niece, who does not own her own car, is living with you for even a few days, and she goes out one evening, and hitchhikes, and the guy who picks her up stops at a light, and gets hit in the rear, then YOUR auto policy probably has to pay HER bills. Key words: She was LIVING with you: Niece (related by blood); and did NOT OWN a Car. It get more complicated if she had a car, but was not insured in NJ - ask your lawyer.

So, REMEMBER your premiums will NOT go up or down based on anything you do regarding treatment, i.e, whether you have $0 or $1,000,000 in therapy. This decision, by law, can only be made by the carrier based on whether the accident meets the State's guidelines of "at fault" or not. If so, then your rates go up with or without treatment. If not, no change either way.

If you were not driving, or if you did not own a vehicle at the time of the accident, then you MUST be covered by one of the following:

A. If NEITHER you, nor anyone residing with you (related to you by blood or marriage) at the time of the accident owned a car, then and only then the insurance for the owner of the vehicle in which you were riding at the time of the accident must cover you. You will need to sign a legal affidavit of no insurance to this effect for us to process a claim in this way.

B. If ANYONE residing with you (related to you by blood or marriage) at the time of the accident owned a car, then THEIR insurance MUST be billed for your services, and remember, their premiums cannot be raised because such an accident cannot be construed as "at fault" for them!

Example: If your grand niece, who does not own her own car, is living with you for even a few days, and she goes out one evening, and hitchhikes, and the guy who picks her up stops at a light, and gets hit in the rear, then YOUR auto policy probably has to pay HER bills. Key words: She was LIVING with you: Niece (related by blood); and did NOT OWN a Car. It get more complicated if she had a car, but was not insured in NJ - ask your lawyer.

So, REMEMBER your premiums will NOT go up or down based on anything you do regarding treatment, i.e, whether you have $0 or $1,000,000 in therapy. This decision, by law, can only be made by the carrier based on whether the accident meets the State's guidelines of "at fault" or not. If so, then your rates go up with or without treatment. If not, no change either way.

Q: I was driving in New York and I was hit by someone also from New Jersey... what laws govern?

A: In this case, you have a choice of which State's laws you want to pursue your case under.

Q: Is there a deductible for auto insurance benefits?:

A: Yes, there is typically a $250.00 deductible which MUST by law be charged to you, BUT, we can agree to defer this payment until your settlement, if any.

Q: Are there any other costs associated with Chiropractic/ Medical services rendered to an accident victim?

A: There may be....

1. If your Attorney requests a narrative report, there is a fee for this and some lawyers lay this out for you, others will bill you at that time. Ask the lawyer.
2. Also, if we are asked to come to Court to testify on your behalf, we will charge a per/hour fee for the time away from the office. This too, can be laid out by the Attorney, or billed to you when your trial comes up. Ask your lawyer before you sign them up to represent you.
3. There are some cases where the patient (you) may need to continue treatment for a chronic condition, after the insurance carrier decides that they will no longer pay for the services (and we will tell you if this happens). In this case, you will have certain choices:
   • You can pay each visit out-of-pocket; or,
   • We can now legally bill your major medical carrier telling them it's an accident related injury and providing a copy of the denial from your accident insurance company....(but they may have to be paid back, if and when your lawyer sues your carrier (in a separate suit called a "PIP suit") to recoup these costs; or,
   • We can wait until you receive a settlement from your carrier, IF you have signed, and had your Attorney execute a valid lien against that settlement.

Q: Suppose there was no other vehicle involved in my accident, or the other vehicle ran from the scene, do I still have medical benefits under my auto policy?

A: If you are insured in New Jersey, you still have medical benefits, and using them has nothing to do with any change in your premiums after the accident.

Your premiums will NOT go up or down based on anything you do regarding treatment, i.e, whether you have $0 or $1,000,000 in therapy. This decision, by law, can only be made by the carrier based on whether the accident meets the State's guidelines of "at fault" or not. If so, then your rates go up with or without treatment. If not, no change either way.

PLEASE do not ask us to bill your major medical carrier if you were injured in a car accident, as we would have to sign a form stating that the injury was NOT due to a motor vehicle injury, and this would be INSURANCE FRAUD.

Q: I have a family friend who is a lawyer... does it matter who represents me in this matter?

A: Very much so! Lawyers are just like human beings (joke), who like you and I come with their own prejudices and preconceptions. Some are more intelligent than others and have themselves used Chiropractic services, and know and respect Doctors of Chiropractic (DC's). Others have no knowledge of Chiropractic, and if they, themselves have little respect for a DC, then how can they build your case on Chiropractic testimony? This would be like having a public defender represent you in a criminal case, whom you know really thinks you are guilty! Ask your Doctor to recommend an Attorney who is experienced in handling Chiropractic cases. Cases based on Chiropractic testimony have yielded some of the largest Court awards for similar injuries.... it's all in your lawyer's hands. Be sure. If your lawyer has never asked your DC for a report, and has given you a list of "real" doctors to see without discussing this with the DC managing your case, you probably have a lawyer with a preconceived and limiting view of Chiropractors. Ask your Doctor for a recommendation for a lawyer who will take over your case. You can almost always change lawyers.