Male physiotherapist exercising with patient having knee pain

Why it’s important to see a specialist after an auto accident.


If you’ve been in a car accident, one of your first “next steps” should be a doctor’s visit. You may think you can schedule an appointment with your regular primary care physician, but your regular doctor may not see you if you’ve been in a car accident. He or she may refer you to a car accident doctor, and there are several reasons why this is your best move.

What’s the difference between a car accident doctor and a regular doctor?

Your regular doctor is a terrific resource if you’re sick or injured. They’re trained to assess and treat many different conditions, and if it’s beyond their expertise, they can refer you to a specialist. If you think you have strep throat, or you tripped and injured your ankle, or you have a headache that will just not go away, you’ll likely go to your regular doctor.

Car accident doctors are a better choice after you’ve been through a vehicular accident. They have extensive experience in treating injuries that are the result of a car accident, which makes these types of patients their specialty.

Car accident doctors have more background in recognizing the many different types of injuries that can happen in a car accident. Also, a car accident office may have several different types of doctors under one roof that can treat each aspect of your injury without needing an appointment somewhere else down the line.

Which doctor you see is also affected by your insurance.

Also, you have to consider insurance, which can be complicated by car accidents. In Florida, drivers are required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which means that fault does not need to be established prior to receiving care and treatment. Also, the law requires that you visit a doctor as soon as possible after your accident (within 14 days) in order for your treatment to qualify for coverage under your PIP policy.

You don’t want the struggle of filing your own PIP claim while possibly being treated for a car accident injury. Doctors who specialize in auto accident injuries have PIP claim filing down pat, making it one less thing you have to worry about while you work on your healing.

See a car accident doctor as soon as you can.

It’s important to visit a car accident doctor after an accident, even if you feel fine. Sometimes, auto accident injuries don’t show up immediately and putting off treatment not only puts your health at risk, but it can make it impossible to file a PIP claim. With proper diagnosis and treatment, your doctor will help you get back to good health — and you won’t have to worry about insurance claims.

Step by Step Auto Accident Guide

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