There are only two groups you need to sue. Bad insurance companies re your med pay and dishonest lawyers who refuse to honor your lien. 

Have a look at our web site under Doctor Resources on the easy steps to sue the bad guys:

www.ShawnSteel.com/doctors.htm

The key steps to remember:

1. Send a warning letter to the debtor via certified mail;
2. File in the court closest to your office, make the other guy travel;
3. Try to bring your patient as your best witness;
4. After you file the suit at the courthouse, via your staff, have the Marshall serve the suit on def.
5. Before the bad guy gets served, fax him a “courtesy” copy of the suit to get his juices going;
6. Many times, at this point, you’ll get a check and the fun is over;
7. Go to court, with love in your heart; tell the truth, 90% of the judges know what you’re going through.
8. Do this 2 times a year.
9. Before you know it your med pay is paying regularly and attorneys don’t burn you. 

Your report is the soul of your PI practice. Judges, juries, adjusters and lawyers all evaluate your professional ability based on how your report looks and what it says. 

The quality of your findings is what determines the VALUE of your patient’s case. We suggest the following:

1. When doing a comprehensive exam…it must follow the ICD-9 time protocols. If you charge for a 99204 there had better be a 45 min face to face encounter with the patient and doctor;
2. Itemize all initial injuries, don’t put complaints in a “narrative” format, they get lost in the reading of your report;
3. History of the accident should focus on the biomechanics of the injury. You should create an image like a slow motion video that reconstructs the injury process.

[ to be continued ]

Nice Win in Orange County

Dr. David Manago must feel pretty good. He took on Auto Club and taught them a brilliant lesson.

Linda Kennedy’s MBZ was hit so hard it knocked out her stereo console. The def lied claiming her BMW’s damage was too small to detect, but she couldn’t produce any pictures.

Kennedy’s total med bills = $6920 plus a shaky loss of earnings. She demanded $15,000, Auto Club offered $10,000 and the Orange Or jury awarded $22,920.00.

Def doctor Eron Martin DC’s testimony against causation was not believed by the jury. Kennedy vs. Bisch OCSC 03 CC 150 77 March 24, 2005.