Need some advice here. A year ago, my mother was involved in a car wreck where she was hit from behind when being stationary at a red light. Since, she has had recurring neck pains which seem to be getting worse.

Oddly, at the time of the booked appointments, she has been denied service by two Ortho surgeons, one completely refused after finding out she was involved in an accident and the other said he would only see her if she would agree to give him a cut of her settlement if she pursued a lawsuit with the insurance. She hasn't even though about pursuing a lawsuit. What in the world is going on with this trend to refuse her service?? She seeking medical services to know if this is a degenerative issue or a result of the accident and what can she do to fix her ailments.

Any of the settlement stuff in writing? Might be a case for malpractice.

However, you have to have a rock solid case to make it stick if in TX.

I'd imagine they are concerned about getting paid by insurance since it might not be covered by her policy. Did she already settle with the other driver's insurance?

The second guy sounds shady AF.

Maybe go through her insurance to find a doctor and preapprove payment?

CheladaAg said:

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What in the world is going on with this trend to refuse her service?? She seeking medical services to know if this is a degenerative issue or a result of the accident and what can she do to fix her ailments.

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It's probably more to do with her age. They'd much rather she see a GP who will prescribe her the pill of the month than take on the liability of performing elective surgery on an elderly patient. I bet if she went to a sports medicine clinic they'd be happy to provide her with regular cortisone shots for as long as her insurance will pay for them.

She did make insurance claims for car damage and for initial doctor visits for anything severe or broken but scans looked fine. She has two years to pursue anything additional so she wanted to wait out with her recovery and see if she fully recovered which she hasn't and the pain has been increasing as time goes by.

Thanks. Something to consider.

Doctors who do not usually handle personal injury cases are hesitant to see patients that they don't have an established relationship with because they do not want to be dragged into litigation.

Litigation means depositions and record and billing requests, which means lost admin time for his staff and time in the office for the doctor. Plus, it leads to a lawyer who wants to depose him and tell him he is awful at his job and the patient isn't actually hurt like he says they are.

The doctor who wants "a cut" is offering to do the services under a "letter of protection". Essentially, you are promising to pay them out of any settlement proceeds from the lawsuit. This is incredibly common for doctors that are willing to see patients that have been involved in car accidents. That is not going to be anywhere close to getting you a medical malpractice claim in Texas. They will usually take the patients health insurance information as a backup, but that leads to its own set of issues depending on the timing.

After 2 years passes, since that is the statute of limitations for your mom to bring a claim for her injuries, you may have an easier time finding a doctor.

I hope that the above is informative.

How old is your mother?

Thanks you very much 'LawAg. This was my hypothesis all along and you have confirmed it.

She is 69 yrs old.

If her car was not totaled, she or owner of the car might make a claim for diminished value of the car; claim with the company of the at-fault party. A car involved in an accident loses value even if repaired to perfection. Search diminished claims State of Texas. Insurance Commissioner's bulletin explains. Friend of mine collected $4100 after inquiring.