Back Clinic Med-Legal Corner. Medical law is a branch of law that concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law. The main branches of medical law are the law of torts (most notably medical malpractice) and criminal law in relation to medical practice and treatment. Ethics and medical practice are a growing field.
After working in chiropractic for 30+ years, especially in personal and work injuries. In the Med-legal corner, Dr. Jimenez knows the ins and out’s of what goes into personal and work injury claims. Receiving chiropractic care from a personal injury doctor after suffering an injury can be a lifesaver. As a personal injury chiropractor has attended post-graduate training in accident injury evaluation and treatment which can guarantee a more effective diagnosis and care.
An added bonus is that the chiropractor can do depositions and testify in court. A personal injury doctor works closely with multiple attorneys. The best chiropractors maintain a list of attorneys they know can deliver quality results to their patients in a car accident and personal injury cases. A doctor that has connections with more than one attorney offers a wide variety of experienced personal injury claim professionals to choose from, who can better accommodate you to solve your specific case after an accident. For answers to any questions you may have please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900
Truide has been working for the past 20 years in claims resolutions. She works hand in hand with patients and is available to resolve dispute resolutions. She also works as the patient liaison for clinical and legal matters.
Truide Torres Jimenez (Brief Bio & Her Personal Message) Driven by the passion of doing what is in the patient’s best interest, I wake up every morning with the drive to help those in need. The claims process for health care is full of pits, valleys, and difficult obstacles designed to strike fear in those in need. My duty is to do what is within the confines of the law, “whatever it takes,” to get those involved to pay attention to those who need help. That is what I am honored to do for our patients.
My Purpose: In finding my purpose, I find the bigger “Why” behind my business. This is essential in the challenges I have seen in these times. Each day, I search for God’s message in my purpose, which I pray takes me to another level. At the end of the day, I, too, do not want to work for the sake of working. As humans and God-fearing individuals, we like to know we’re aligned with what we feel we are called to do. So getting with my purpose and my “why” has always so important to me. I love people, and I want to help them, especially when they are in need.
My Commitment As defined, commitment is “the state or quality of being dedicated to cause activity, etc.” Without commitment, it is difficult, if not impossible, to push through challenges to reach our goals. My commitment is to serve my fellow person in their clinical needs and find the right solution for them.
My Dedication: “The quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose is what I strive daily for every day.” I have always told my children that you commit to it once you have a purpose, and you see it through. I, too, try to live my life by those words. Yes, it’s work, and there is no substitute other than to dig in and get it done. There is no substitute for practice and preparation. Our success with our patients has always been dependent on the level of effort we as a team have been able to focus on with our independent and prioritized tasks mutually. I commit to being dedicated to our God-directed purpose.
Perseverance I believe that to persevere, you must show continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failures, or oppositions. With our patients and those we assist, we face many challenges and need and pray for the ability to push through and pick ourselves up when down. I can only imagine how my clients feel. For that reason, I push harder to help them. Simply put, each challenge we as a team overcomes, the closer we can help our patients and those in need. So we stay the course and overcome the fear and struggles our patients have and help them clinically persevere.
Personally, I have seen great injustices transpire on those that do NOT have a voice in today’s world. Whether a language barrier or just not knowing the rules. My job is to find out how I can help. If I personally can not help, I will find the right sources to open the possibilities. Then, I get the job done.
As a wife and mother of 2 children, 2 dogs and 3 cats, my passion is for God, Family, and the mission of serving my fellow man.
Call me if you need help with clinical matters:
Office 915-850-0900 / Cell: 915-252-6149
Truide Torres – Jimenez Patient Advocate: Injury Medical Clinic PA
New Patient Intake Form: Truide Torres, office manager at Injury Medical Clinic with Dr. Alex Jimenez, discusses some of the most common questions patients have when they come in for their first office visit. Patients can save time and fill most of the required forms online by visiting elpasobackclinic.com/patient-intake-form. If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident or a work-related accident, Truide Torres describes which type of insurance can be used to provide you with the healthcare benefits you deserve. Dr. Alex Jimenez is the recommended non-surgical choice for well-being.
New Patient Intake Form Explained
Personal injury is a valid term for a physical, mental or emotional injury to yourself, as opposed to damage to property. The expression is commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit where the individual has suffered harm. Personal injury lawsuits are filed against the person or entity that caused the injury through negligence, gross negligence, reckless conduct, or misconduct, and in some instances on the grounds of strict liability. Common types of personal injury claims include automobile accidents, work-related accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, assault claims, and product defect accidents (product liability).
Our team has takes great�pride in bringing our families and injured patients only�clinically proven treatments protocols. �By teaching complete holistic wellness as a lifestyle,�we also change not only our patients lives but their families as well.� We do this so that we may reach as many El Pasoans who need us, no matter the affordability issues.
There is no reason we cannot help you.�
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Domestic abuse: October is a�Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so it�is time to get a closer look at this increasing form of violent behavior. By and large, the general public is unaware of the effects domestic abuse has on its victims, other family members and society as a whole. Therefore, attempts are being made to heighten society�s awareness of the many facets of this violent crime that plagues America today.
Because people should be aware of the types of abuse crimes that fall into the category of domestic abuse, and who the victims of domestic abuse are, the center is answering questions, such as �Does one have to be a spouse or other immediate family member to be considered a victim of domestic abuse?�
WHAT IS DOMESTIC ABUSE?
This is a crime that involves abuse of family members, romantic partners, and others. The crimes of domestic abuse are numerous, ranging from verbal abuse to murder. They include emotional abuse, such as intimidation and threats, assault, battery (with or without the use of a deadly weapon), sexual abuse (i.e. spousal rape), kidnapping, and detaining one against his or her will.
When considering crimes of domestic abuse, most states consider certain relationships to be �domestic relationships.� In these states, the relationships usually include spouses, former spouses, persons who share a common child together, persons currently residing together or those that have previously shared a domestic living arrangement together, in their criteria for domestic relationships.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TODAY
The problem of Domestic violence is on the rise and becoming ever more dangerous to its victims who live in fear. However, the average person in the United States today is unaware of just how serious and out of hand the crime of domestic violence is becoming. This could possibly be because many Americans do not live with conflict and violence in their homes.
Conversely, many victims of domestic violence do not even realize that they are victims of the crime of domestic violence. They�ve been misled by their abusers and believe that the abuse they are victimized by, really is not abuse at all, but just �a way of life.�
Federal employees that are injured at work do not get benefits through workers’ comp insurance or their nation’s workers’ comp program.
Instead, federal employees receive workers’ compensation benefits through the Federal Employees Compensation Act, abbreviated as FECA, except for railroad workers, longshoremen, black lung coal miners, and refuge workers (that are insured under their own national laws for workers’ compensation). Members of the USA armed forces are also not considered federal employees for purposes of FECA.
FECA provides benefits and injury compensation for workers injured on the job, or even if their injury happened during the course and scope of their employment offsite. FECA covers both injuries and occupational diseases that arise over time work conditions. The United States Department of Labor, through the Office of Worker Compensation Programs, administers the workers’ comp benefits provided by the Federal Employees Compensation Act.
Qualifications
Coverage under FECA, or the Federal Employees Compensation Act, is supplied to all national government employees regardless of the number of years of service, nature of the position, or kind of job they perform. In order to be covered by FECA, you must be employed by the federal government, not a private government contractor. If you are currently working for a private business, the workers’ compensation laws in the state will cover you.
For the injury or illness to qualify under FECA, then you must have become injured while performing duties of your job or you developed a disease because of the conditions and hazards inherent in your job. This may consist of accidents occurring while working or traveling offsite as well.
FECA does not cover injuries and diseases that arise because of activities beyond the “course and scope of your employment.” Activities beyond the course and scope of employment include commuting to and from work, recreational excursions, and activities for private reasons. Injuries sustained while intoxicated or under the influence of non-prescription drugs will not be covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act. FECA also provides benefits to surviving family members for employees that die on the job while performing work-related pursuits.
Back Pain in Federal Employees
As with anyone experiencing symptoms of back pain after being involved in a work accident, due to aggravated conditions or illness, or simply from wear-and-tear injuries, it’s essential for federal employees to seek the proper care and benefits for their symptoms to receive immediate medical attention. Spine issues resulting in sciatica can be debilitating and may affect an employee’s capability to work. Programs for federal employees like FECA may help substantially improve an individual’s overall health and wellness, allowing them to return to work as soon as possible.
FECA Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your FECA workers’ compensation claim is permitted, you will start to receive workers’ compensation benefits to compensate you for your injury or illness and help you with the recovery. First, FECA will cover all necessary and appropriate claim-related medical therapy. This includes prescriptions, surgery and rehabilitation.
The Federal Employees Compensation Act provides compensation if a worker is disabled and unable to work as a result of industrial injury or occupational disease. You will be compensated by your service directly for your lost wages and more. Should your inability to work exceed 45 days, FECA will cover your wages that are lost.
If your workers’ compensation claim is based on an occupational disease, you’re entitled to compensation for lost salary from FECA after an initial three-day waiting period.
If your injury or illness results in permanent partial disability or permanent total disability, FECA will provide advantages and additional benefits. The total amount of the compensation is based on the severity of your permanent disability and the effect it has on your earning capacity. And if you have dependents, you will probably receive increased permanent disability compensation to account for your own requirement to supply for those dependents.
In the event that you need job retraining to return to the workforce after your injury or illness FECA provides compensation. Dependents are eligible to receive survivor’s benefits. For further details regarding the benefits of the Federal Employees Compansation Act, visit the�Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC).
Speak to an Attorney
If your FECA employees’ compensation claim is refused, your claim may be more complicated, or your injury may have been considered more severe. You should carefully consider speaking to a lawyer in your area experienced in FECA employees’ compensation law. Although an attorney isn’t necessary to obtain workers’ compensation benefits, an attorney can help in ensuring you get all of the benefits you’re entitled to get, guiding you through the procedure.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Back pain is one of the most common symptoms reported among the general population. While back pain can occur due to a variety of injuries and/or underlying conditions, a work accident has often been associated as a frequent origin of back pain issues. Back pain can affect an individual at least once throughout their lifetime. Fortunately, federal employees who experience back pain, such as symptoms of sciatica, can benefit from programs like FECA.
Why do they deploy in some instances and not others?
The module monitors various vehicle systems and contains a threshold for deployment; in simpler terms, this usually means the collision must meet specific settings to deploy an airbag. The idea is exactly the same while the system of every automobile brand is specifically different from the next.
If the collision, as computed by the module, is intense enough, it’ll deploy the appropriate airbag(s). The module has the final say when an airbag is deployed, this is software & hardware dependent.
The module can understand, through onboard accelerometers, changes in the vehicles direction and speed. The module constantly calculates these changes and when it “sees” a switch beyond preset thresholds it begins to track, quite tightly, the fluctuations (this is called algorithm enablement). If it establishes that the changes meet the standards for airbag deployment, it’ll deploy the appropriate airbag(s).
Many vehicles also have failsafe sensors mounted in the car that are designed as a secondary mechanical and/or diagnostic triggering system. These detectors are mounted under the radiator, when crushed or damaged, they force an airbag deployment, generally on the vehicle’s front.
People also often ask whether the vehicle detects if a chair is occupied, in order to deploy an airbag. The driver�s seat is obvious, beyond this, the front passenger seat has a pressure sensor in it which can tell when a predetermined amount of weight is on it, and the rest of the seats use the seatbelt latch (vehicle specific). When you’re driving a vehicle, the module also monitors the status of the pressure sensors and seatbelts, it then uses this data to make the best choice possible about which airbags to deploy and when.
Collision Report Explanations and What to Expect
I’m frequently asked about a specialists report, but the most frequent subset questions are on the lack of aid for findings from the report. Since it is of private & professional interest I have chosen to tackle this question.
“I got this collision pro’s report but there does not seem to be any explanation for his findings, is this normal?”
Yes and No. Yes, this occurs; no, it’s not standard. All professional disciplines of post primary education are based in criteria that were scholarly & accredited.
Collison reconstruction specialists are no different. While not necessary part of an graduate or undergraduate curriculum, the training and instruction they have is based on exactly the identical licensed & scholarly training and education – because of the correlation, the exact same standard ought to be applied to collision reconstruction professionals. Scholarly research relies on procedures of peer reviewed and investigation, testing, and scrutiny before being approved.
When an expert offers an opinion without saying supporting scholarly documentation it’s not useless, but rather it stands alone; it’s simply his opinion. Conversely, as soon as an expert offers and opinion with proper supporting documentation that was scholarly, expertise, all the work, and research is provided with his opinion.
Additional and Minimal Costs in Auto Accidents
Often times an appraisal for repairs is used to justify “low speed” by citing minimum costs. There are a few points regarding so the question is These to consider:
Is the recorded price on the appraisal an accurate reflection of damage?
The long answer begins with understanding who did the assessment and what is there background? Normally, appraisers are trained by the insurer — as such, decreasing the costs and expenses of repair is at the interests of the insurance company. Secondly, a vehicle is not disassembled to learn if there is any damage, especially in low speed collisions by most appraisers.
The next issue is when replacement parts are required where do they come from? Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) components cost considerably more than Equal or Like Quality (ELQ) components, like ELQ components are the preferred choice of insurance businesses. It would cost the industry millions more when making repairs to use OEM parts as opposed to ELQ parts. Along this exact same line, paint’s quality also varies. Paint manufacturers provide paint systems that are very durable and will meet with the OEM specifications paints they also offer more economically tightly or paint which is not quite as durable color matched to the first, and as anticipated, it costs less.
The last problem to discuss is occupation downtime. The longer there is a vehicle in for repairs the more it costs the insurance provider in fees. While a shop can, and will, have a minimum quantity of time to fix the vehicle the insurance company is going to maintain them on this time frame and constantly press to be completed. This drive can make an environment where the repair facility will sacrifice quality of workmanship to finish for a profit margin that is much better.
The above factors greatly dictate the final amount making it overly subjective for a trusted stage to confirm the threshold of harm; in different terms, using “low cost” as a justification for no harm is not appropriate as no causality relationship is different. If a breakdown of the repair invoice is supplied, you efficiently show the bias towards reducing the cost of the repair and can objectively cost the repair components.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Additional Topics: Weakened Ligaments After Whiplash
Whiplash is a commonly reported injury after an individual has been involved in an automobile accident. During an auto accident, the sheer force of the impact often causes the head and neck of the victim to jerk abruptly, back-and-forth, causing damage to the complex structures surrounding the cervical spine. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized to help decrease the symptoms of whiplash.
Not only do tires play a vital role in the performance of your car or truck, but a lot of information can be garnered about what happened before, during, and after a crash. Tire marks will be explored by us and, generally, what those marks tell us.
First let us discuss where the marks come from. Skid marks are created by the extreme thermal relationship of a tire against the roadway surface during extreme stresses put on the tire, a simpler way to say this is, a tire will “mark” when it nears, or exceeds, the limits of its relationship with the roadway. These marks occur because the oils in the roadway and/or the tire(s) are brought to the surface and “melted or burnt” into the roadway. If a tire is heated enough since the surface of the tire will have changed, it’ll be obvious, it is going to have a spot and obvious abrasions.
Kinds of Skid Marks.
There are three specific kinds of marks we will talk about, these are the most typical four wheeled car and light duty truck marks. (Other vehicles, such as motorcycles, have different specific marks).
Light to Dark or Dark to Light
All marks can be placed into two categories when referencing the management of the vehicle which made them. Light to dark marks (in the direction the vehicle was traveling) support a vehicle making the marks through some kind of deceleration (extra points if you wanted to read “negative acceleration”). Dark to light marks (again, in the direction the vehicle was traveling) support a vehicle making the marks through some form of acceleration, usually excessive wheel spin.
Darker from the Middle, Darker on the Outsides, or Uniform
Marks that are darker in the center indicate a tire that’s overinflated, conversely marks that are darker on the outside edges indicate a tire which is underinflated. Indicate a tire.
ABS Versus Regular Marks
ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) marks are lighter than conventional marks and have more tire tread definition in them, Non-ABS marks rarely have tread definition inside them. ABS marks are also shorter when compared to non ABS marks from a vehicle traveling in precisely the speed.
What else can skid marks tell us?
As you have already found skid marks may tell us about the tires inflation, ABS or non-ABS braking, and direction of travel. Marks can also tell us something when and in which the decision to brake occurred. This is the most under-utilized and under explored aspect even more so in speed crashes. Some basic calculations can be made, using a variety of aspects of the skid marks, to determine where the driver made the decision.
Why is this so important? Consider the following illustration.
This drawing is a timeless teaching example used to demonstrate the value of skid marks. Consider this situation, the blue car says he had the green light and was hit at the intersection. The car says so that that he braked hard he also had the light and saw the car. There isn’t any other evidence or witnesses.
Now the student would be asked to calculate the position of the cars once the decision to brake was created using the beginning of the skid marks, ultimately this would place the vehicles in the place labeled 1.
Now the apparent problem with the red car’s situation now that we have used the skid marks to ascertain where he determined to brake, a construction blocks his view of the blue car (position 1 for both vehicles). This begs the question as to why did he decide then to brake? The answer, the light was red for the red car and the driver was braking for traffic lighting, not the blue car making the red car culpable in this situation as the physical evidence affirms the “at fault” party.
Another valuable piece of advice is that rubber is biodegradable and there are naturally occurring nitrogen based bacteria that “eat” rubber. These bacteria are competitive and will eat rubber in most environments, therefore if you’re trying to determine causality and the “at fault” party, it is in your best interest to take pictures of the roadway whenever possible. Skid marks are gone in a brief amount of time.
Skid marks are a valuable item of evidence and a great tool for determining many facets in a collision; it is extremely important none of them are overlooked or underestimated.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Additional Topics: Weakened Ligaments After Whiplash
Whiplash is a commonly reported injury after an individual has been involved in an automobile accident. During an auto accident, the sheer force of the impact often causes the head and neck of the victim to jerk abruptly, back-and-forth, causing damage to the complex structures surrounding the cervical spine. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized to help decrease the symptoms of whiplash.
There are several reasons engineering and accident reconstruction reports are problematic. Let’s address the biggest and first issue, cost. Many attorneys won’t realize the real value of cases if they deal with doctors who do not know how to document the patient’s injuries correctly, leading to issues related to poor documentation management.
This is a massive benefit to the insurance company who have banked on the sloppiness and ignorance of the entire medical-legal community. However, there is a growing number of doctors and attorneys who do know.
In this sense, the insurance carrier knows they’ll pay, a vast majority of this time, a minimum amount for a collision even if the case needs to have a much greater value due to the nature of the injuries. The insurance companies know this for a number of reasons, but the biggest reason is cost, not for them but you.
Accident Reports and Insurance Companies
For the sake of discussion let’s say the average case settles for $15,000. If the collision specialist costs $2,000 to $5,000 (along with the doctors and the other experts), this is an expense which cannot or chooses not to be absorbed by solo attorney’s, smaller and even bigger legal firms. This is known by the insurance company and use it whenever it presents itself.
Why can a “deep pocketed” insurance company afford to pay a specialist on a smaller case? There are few reasons but the two are the insurance companies can absorb the expense of the consultants AND a smaller instances will perform the work, as good faith towards the client, pro bono, in some cases.
Obviously, if the attorney cannot make any money they will not take the situation and paying for a collision professional is a substantial factor in this decision, especially if the defense already has you. This greatly reduces the attorney’s costs per case while making you more valuable as a resource AND affords the attorney the chance to take on cases.
Identifying Inaccuracies
The cost concerns cause a second problem, identifying inaccuracies. I have yet to meet an crash engineering defense pro who will explain the shortfall of a case because it is going to expose their inaccuracies and will not bode well for them regarding referrals. MANY low speed collisions have gaps which must be filled in with information that is vetted and carefully selected. Using generalized data (that is the standard in the industry to work with) is quite dangerous as it makes the difference for results reliability too wide. The results will have margin for error and that margin of error is the difference between being or prevailing on the side and all accepted as accurate, but is not.
In this section we discuss why time is a critical element. In the picture above, we illustrate a train, which collides with a barrier at 100 miles per hour and crushes. The related math demonstrates how increasing the time decreases acceleration (see circled numbers). There is not any room for doubt regarding injury as its speed and acceleration is beyond accepted thresholds. What if the speeds change so they are very close to those injury thresholds?
Consider the second example, here the speed of the train represents final approach to a stop hurdle in which the engineer is a little careless and bumps the cease hurdle. What’s important to notice about this visual is the moment. If we double the time (from .05 to .1) the last g force is halved (resulting in 2.267 g’s). What if there were studies that we could cite which say the time necessary to stop for a train is .075 seconds? The first time value of .05 would be too brief, the second value of .1 would be too big, and both do not fit the cited studies.
In this case the period variable changes a tiny amount but the resulting change in the g forces may no longer be sufficient to substantiate a claim for injury. This is the reason the justification for any values is so significant. If you don’t understand they were selected and why the variables are there, they you do not know if they’re accurate or not. A deviation is often the arbiter in determining if there were sufficient transference of forces needed for 27, in a case for failure or success.
Conclusion
Cost and inaccuracies are a couple of the problems commonly faced by attorneys regarding collision reconstruction. For doctors, there’s now a recognized course to offer you the training to be an collision engineer/reconstructionist and for the attorney, when there is a defense engineer, you should have someone dissecting the math to ensure accuracy because usually the “guestimates” used will work against you in settlement or litigation.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Additional Topics: Weakened Ligaments After Whiplash
Whiplash is a commonly reported injury after an individual has been involved in an automobile accident. During an auto accident, the sheer force of the impact often causes the head and neck of the victim to jerk abruptly, back-and-forth, causing damage to the complex structures surrounding the cervical spine. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized to help decrease the symptoms of whiplash.
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