Attorneys

Why choose Edgewood Spine to provide care for your clients?

• Expertise to properly identify and document injuries
• Latest treatment methods and technologies
• Clear and comprehensive documentation
• Utilization of value drivers for Colossus and similar programs
• Referral network spanning a wide range of disciplines
• Higher settlement offers
• In-house 2nd opinion on every
• patient

The 3 vital aspects of medical care for your clients’ identification, causation, and valuation

Our number one priority is to return the patient to pre-accident status. While implementing the best evidence-based care, we remain aware of 3 key aspects of the case.

Identification

Small fractures are often only visible when the healing process begins. Our clinic has a digital x-ray on-site that may identify such fractures. We also perform stressed x-ray views that objectively prove permanent ligamentous damage, alteration of motion segment integrity as per AMA Guides. It isn’t just what imaging you order, it is how you order it. Many significant injuries require an MRI to identify. However, almost all physicians, orthopedic surgeons, family practitioners, etc... will order a standard spinal region MRI without contrast. Reviewing your prior cases will almost certainly reveal this. We order specialized combinations of slices that can reveal injuries that do not appear on a standard MRI. We also order specialized versions of the MRI that are edema sensitive. Hence, the MRI will not only identify the injury but will also prove it is acute and causally related to the accident.

The vast majority of MVC victims suffer ligamentous damage. Insurance companies will argue these are soft-tissue injuries and will completely resolve within a couple of months. The most common reasons why some patients’ symptoms do not resolve in this time frame are scar tissue and/or laxity in the ligaments. Our office specializes in not only identifying but treating scar tissue. Permanent ligamentous injury is identified with digital motion x-ray or stressed x-ray views. Measurements taken from these views can qualify for alteration of motion segment integrity (AOMSI) as specified in the Ameri- can Medical Association’s: Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition (Guides 5th). Most clinics will have to refer a patient out to have these films taken and/or the measurements calculated, costing hundreds of dollars. Our clinic has a brand new digital x-ray unit with software capable of drawing and calculating AOMSI. AOMSI warrants a 25% whole person impairment and would likely be missed by most practitioners in the area.

These are just a few examples of some of the methods we utilize to properly identify injuries and properly diagnose the patient. Again, this is not only crucial to the patient receiving the proper care, but also to them receiving fair compensation.

Causation

As you are well aware, being able to attribute the patient’s injuries to the accident is vital. The insurance companies will argue the patient’s injuries were pre-existing and/or the injuries could not have occurred in the collision. Our doctors take comprehensive examinations and review past medical records to clearly define what injuries are due to the accident and which, if any, issues may be pre-existing. Documentation is focused on those specific injuries and any pre-existing issues will be allotted for in the impairment as per the AMA Guides. As mentioned prior, this is why ordering the proper imaging initially, such as the edema-sensitive MRI, is so important. In our clinic, all MVC patient cases are reviewed by both doctors, providing a built-in second opinion.

If the vehicle damage and/or the speed of the collision is low, the insurance company will often attempt to argue that the patient’s injuries could not have been caused by the accident. This is where our doctors’ post-graduate education and certifications are valuable. The insurance companies generally base this argument on several of roughly 30 studies. These studies are cherry-picked and misrepresented, having significant flaws that have been invalidated in court by experts who are keenly aware of these studies. 

Our doctors have an updated database of over 20,000 peer-reviewed studies along with a review by Dr. Arthur Croft, D.C. from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, and overall validity of the study. Many strong studies are utilized by our doctors to combat their studies and clearly demonstrate the patient’s injuries were causally related to the accident. We have seen reports of some courts not allowing the use of studies unless the expert was the one conducting the study. Our doctors’ footnote studies in the final report that support their conclusions. The clickable footnote contains the entire study, therefore, it is part of the medical record and is admissible.

Valuation

All insurance companies utilize Colossus or a similar program to provide them with an estimated value of an injury. Extensive research, including information from ex-insurance adjusters, has been obtained to give us guidance on how best to list diagnoses and document the multi-disciplinary approach and consensus with the physicians in our referral network. This drives the Colossus value higher and will result in higher settlement offers.

Dr. David Neville, D.C. and Dr. Matthew Schlagheck, D.C. possess everything necessary to provide what research says is the most effective treatment options, state of the art diagnostic and treatment equipment, a referral network for a multi-disciplinary consensus, post-graduate education, and certifications for expert testimony, research to combat the insurance companies, and research to support causation and impairment.