http://www.727injury.com (727) 381-2300 St Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas
What do you do if you are pregnant and are injured in a car accident? Now this is a really scary situation. Unfortunately, we get a lot of female clients who are pregnant and are in a car accident and sustained some type of injury. And Jonathan and I always pay great attention to these cases because of the sensitivity and the risk to the baby. So first and foremost, if you've been injured in a car accident and you are pregnant, make sure you go to the hospital and get checked out. Explained to the doctors at the hospital what injuries you sustained and to what area of the body. Make sure they check out the, uh, make sure they check out the baby and, uh, after leaving the hospital you will definitely need to follow up with your ob as soon as possible. Again, those are all cautionary issues, uh, but they are, uh, recommended and should be taken in every single situation.
Now, assuming that there's no injury to the baby, most women who are pregnant and are injured in car accidents also have low back problems. Now again, I understand that women may have low back issues just by virtue of carrying the baby. I get that. And insurance companies get that, but the car accident can exacerbate or inflamed that low back and also create additional injuries. So the issues with those, that low back, it creates a whole nother can of worms. Um, many medical providers, uh, like chiropractors and physical therapists may not even treat a pregnant woman because of the risk of doing something to the baby. So my suggestion is speak to a car accident lawyer if you are pregnant and get referred to somebody that is comfortable treating you. Now again, there are certain limitations as to the treatment. So this is the next step in the process.
So you get, go to the hospital, go to your ob, um, if your ob Gyn has cleared you for some type of therapy for your low back, which is normally the case you have, you really have very limited options. Chiropractic is, can be done, physical therapy can be done. Again, if those providers will take you. But diagnostic testing really is, um, is questionable. Uh, and I say that because they will not normally do x-rays or MRIs or CT scans or cat scans to a woman, unless this is a, there's a very unusual set of circumstances. So if you go into a chiropractor or you see a, an orthopedic doctor for example, after a car accident and they tell you, um, you know, you've got a low back injury, uh, but you're not disabled, normally they will hold off on sending you off an MRI until after you've delivered the baby.
So while you're pregnant, you can only do this, what we call conservative care after the car accident injury. Um, and, but then once the baby is delivered, you can get back into treatment, get that MRI, find out exactly what the injury is. Uh, you'll know what again, the injury is. And so you'll be able to, to, um, uh, develop a, a further course of treatment. And also we need those verified findings in your car accident case in order to show the insurance company that you've got some legitimate injury, that it's not just related to carrying the baby. So again, if you have been in a car accident and you're pregnant and you are injured, obviously there are very certain and specific steps that need to be taken. We watch these cases very closely. We work in connection with your ob Gyn and your doctors on a regular basis to make sure that the baby's safe and you are getting proper medical treatment and then maximize the injury claim on the back end. If you've been injured in an accident and you are pregnant and you have any issues or questions about the, uh, next steps, police contact us. Our consultations are always free.
*The above has been transcribed by a third party service and has not been checked for accuracy
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St Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas
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St Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas are committed to helping their clients achieve the best possible outcome. If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate, contact us today at (727) 381-2300. We are open 24/7 and you will be speaking with an attorney.
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