NJ Personal Injury Protection (NJ PIP)

New Jersey is one of the very few states that offers victims personal injury protection in the event of an accident. Personal injury protection is referred to as no-fault insurance.

It is called this because expenses will be paid out regardless of which driver is at fault for the accident. Even if you are eligible to file a personal injury claim, your insurance will still pay for the injures that you have sustained.

Personal injury protection covers :

• Medical care following a car accident. Things like ambulance rides, hospital stays, therapy services, medications, rehab, diagnostic testing, and more
• All doctors visits and specialist visits
• Lost wages due to having to recover at home. You could receive payment from PIP if you are not able to carry out basic tasks due to injury
• Death benefits if the victim passes away from their injuries. The next of kin is eligible to receive the maximum amount of benefits from pip if the deceased was the home provider

Mainly personal injury protection will cover all treatments that are required when you have been in an auto accident.

Your Right To Sue

Depending on which personal injury protection plan you purchased, any legal fees may be covered under the policy.

This is only if you selected the unlimited right to sue when you made your initial purchase of the plan. Filing a lawsuit can help to attain any other monetary losses and damages that were caused by the accident.

If you did select the unlimited right to sue when purchasing your policy, you are able to sue the person that caused your automobile accident. There is also a limited right to sue option that was available at the time of purchase.

Under the limited right to sue clause, you can sue the person responsible for the accident if you have sustained disfigurement, scarring, loss of a limb, fractures, loss of a pregnancy, or death.

Finding A Personal Injury Doctor in New Jersey

Now that we have given you better insight into what personal injury insurance covers, you can begin looking for your personal injury doctor. Before selecting a doctor, you need to think about what qualifications you want your doctor to have. This will help to cut down your existing list of doctors.

If you are not comfortable with a specific doctor, then you can always make a choice to change doctors. You should never feel like you are stuck with one doctor.

Check Out Online Reviews

There is no better way to find a car doctor in New Jersey then to check the online reviews about a doctor and their company. You should read through all of the positive and negative reviews to see if the doctor will be a good match for your situation.

Also, be on the lookout for doctors that will accept personal injury protection insurance, specifically treat your injuries, and have the majority of the qualities that you are looking for in a doctor.

Common injuries you want to be aware of following a car accident include:

• Spinal injuries
• Broken bones
• Nerve damage
• Herniated disc
• Shoulder injuries
• Knee injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)

You could take some time to read testimonials from previous patients that are suffering from your injuries or had similar situations. This gives you some insight on how long treatment took, how long it took the patient to recover, and if the procedure was helpful longterm.

If the doctor doesn’t have experience treating patients with injuries after a car accident, then you will need to search for another doctor.

Ask Your Friends And Family

The recommendations given to you by friends and family are usually the most useful recommendation that you can find. Once you have been involved in a car accident that caused injuries, you should ask your friends, family, and coworkers for their opinion on a good injury doctor.

If they don’t have a personal recommendation for a doctor, they may know someone that does have the experience that will be able to help you find the right doctor.

Check With Your Insurance Company

If necessary, you can ask your insurance company if they have a list of personal injury doctors that will accept NJ PIP insurance. Some insurance companies keep these lists handy in case their clients need help locating a doctor in the New Jersey area.

Also, check your insurance companies’ online database because some companies will have an available list of doctors that will accept your PIP insurance and treat your injuries.

PIP insurance is also known as “no-fault insurance” and can pay for medical, living, or rehab expenses after someone suffers an injury after a car accident. PIP will pay out no matter who’s fault the accident was in New Jersey.

Primary Care Doctors Versus Specialists

Sometimes you will need a doctor that specializes in specific injuries.

Specialization doctors include orthopedists, neurologists, chiropractors, physiatrists, pain management specialists, physical therapists, and other specialized doctors. These types of doctors will consist of individual notes in your records after treatment.

These notes will include:

• A detailed analysis of what happened to you during the accident
• A detailed synopsis of any preexisting injuries that were not caused by the accident
• A list of all of the tests that they performed including nerve compression tests and testing your range of motion
• A list of any specialized test such as x-rays, MRI’s, CT scans, and more
• A detailed list of prescriptions that they have given you for occupational therapy, physical therapy, vocational rehabilitation, and mental therapy
• An area devoted to whether or not they sent you to specialists outside of their practice
• A synopsis about what caused your injuries and if the car accident contributed to the worsening of your preexisting injuries
• An explanation about whether your injures will heal or if they are permanent injuries
• Future medical needs

Why Do You Need A Specialist?

A specialist is needed to add value to your personal injury case. The medical specialist that frequently treats auto accident injuries include orthopedists, neurologists, pain management doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists.

All of the information that the specialist will notate will help your insurance company understand how you were affected and how your life will change because of the car accident.

It will also give them documentation that the insurance payout is justified based on the injuries that you have sustained. A primary care doctor does not have the equipment or qualification to accurately assess all of your injuries following a car accident.

Be Honest With Your NJ Auto Accident Doctor

The last thing we recommend doing when you have found your New Jersey doctor is lying to them about any preexisting injuries that you may have. You need to tell your doctor everything, or it can affect your credibility and hinder your recovery time.

If your claim features injuries that your doctor was not made aware of, the insurance company will deem you as a liar and untrustworthy. It can also lead to claims that you were trying to be manipulative.

When you have injuries that preceded the accident, it will mean that you need more time to recover. This means a more massive payout as you stay at home doing your rehabilitation.

Don't Miss Your Appointments

It is essential that all of your appointments are kept. This will prevent there being any significant gaps of time in between your scheduled treatment. If there are significant gaps in your treatment, it will likely decrease your overall case value.

It will also lessen the likelihood that you will recover completely from all of your injuries.

The doctor has to document that you have missed appointments and update further treatment in the future.

Go See The Doctor Right Away

Even if you still have not decided on a specific doctor, you need to go get looked over as soon as possible. This is because if you delay being checked medically until you decide on a doctor, then your insurance company will try to say that all of your injuries could have been caused by something else.

By going right after an accident, you avoid being asked why you didn’t go to the hospital. Also, right after a car accident, your adrenaline will still be thumping. Adrenaline will keep you from feeling all of your injures until after you have calmed down.

Sometimes there are injuries you may have that, if not treated right away, could cause you to not recover fully. When you wait to be checked out, you are mostly hoping that all of your injuries heal on their own and that may not be the case at all.

Getting checked right after an automobile accident, you could reduce the chances of scar tissue and pressure building within your body. This will help reduce the risk of internal nerve damage that can cause other aches and pains to arise.

Specific diagnostic tests will be run to ensure that permanent nerve damage is not a possibility.

If You Can't Afford A Doctor...

What if you can’t afford a doctor? You can still visit the hospital and get the care that you need from the medical professionals available.

In the event that you have personal injury protection insurance, the hospital will send your bill to your car insurance company.

If you were the passenger or pedestrian that has been involved in a car accident, then you may be able to access a portion of the personal injury protection insurance that covers the car that hit you.

Doctors That Wait For Payment

Most doctors will not ask for payment at the beginning of your treatments, they may wait until the end of your insurance claim case to be paid.

This is referred to as an insurance security agreement, which is a written contract between the doctor and you agreeing that a portion of the settlement money will be used to pay your doctor for their services.

Ready To Find Your Car Accident Doctor?

Even with all of the information about finding a New Jersey auto accident doctor, it can still be quite overwhelming to get the ball rolling. You do not need to worry because we will help you get started.

The right doctor will not only help treat your preexisting and new injuries, but they will also make sure that you will be left with unpaid medical bills.

By relying on experts, you have a better chance of avoiding a harmful financial fallout and can instead continue to recover from your auto accident in peace.

We want you to get the help you need to recover and takes care of your medical bills caused by the car accident.

Call 1-800-897-8440 to find an experienced NJ auto accident doctor near you. Some car accident injuries can be hidden for days or even weeks, don’t delay, schedule your appointment now.

Telemedicine and virtual appointments are now available from the safety of your home. Call now.