Settling their claim before they’re done treating is the number one mistake your patient can make when it comes to their personal injury claim. Your patient having a full recovery is what’s most important. If the insurance company adjuster for the other person’s carrier tries to get your patient to settle their claim, you should advise them not to until they’re done treating.

If your patient signs a medical authorization for the adverse insurance company before they’re done treating from their car accident, the insurance company will use the information in your patient’s medical records to pressure the PIP carrier to stop paying the medical bills.

If you have a patient who is seeing several medical providers for treatment following a car accident — so they avoid problems with their personal injury claim, they should designate one of their providers to act as the coordinator of their medical care. It’s a good idea to be proactive and talk with your patient about this to help them avoid issues of over treatment and PIP being exhausted before they’re done treating.

Not asking enough questions about potential preexisting conditions your patient may have is the fourth biggest mistake that can happen with your patient’s personal injury claim.
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Talking with your patient and getting information about their preexisting injuries is critical to their care and also their claim. Coming up with varied ways to ask your patient questions will help you draw out the information you need to help them — and help you.

Your patient posting information about their car accident and injuries on their social media is the fifth biggest mistake the can make with their personal injury claim. When first meeting with a patient who has been injured in a car accident, let your patient know when you first meet with them, that they should be careful about posting on social media — this will help protect their claim.

Your patient’s chart notes that look the same as all your other chart notes in their file is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your patient’s personal injury claim. When chart noting, make sure that your notes don’t look overly similar. Think about how they’re going to viewed by someone who knows nothing about chart notes.

Not asking enough questions about how fast the other car was going is the seventh biggest mistake that we see happening in your patients personal injury claims. This is in one of those categories that has to do with maintaining your credibility. If the information that you get from your patient is not accurate and you’re basing your opinion on false information — it’s going to undercut your credibility.

Not asking enough questions about possible hidden PIP policies is the 8th biggest mistake that can be made in your patient’s personal injury claim. One of the most helpful things that you can do to ensure that your patient is able to get all the medical treatment they need to have a full recovery from their injuries is to ask more in-depth questions about possible PIP policies they may have.

Initially, it seems to make sense to bill health insurance for treatment caused by an accident after PIP is exhausted. Unfortunately, there can be unseen problems billing health insurance.

One of the lesser-known problems with billing health insurance companies for motor vehicle collisions (especially with Moda and Providence) is that their medical insurance policies have what is called “Future Penalty Clauses.”

Not double-checking the information that your patient completed during their check-in is the tenth biggest mistake that can happen in your patient’s personal injury claim.

This is a critical element of your patient’s personal injury claim that you have complete control over and is one of the most important aspects of you maintaining your credibility as a medical provider.