STRENGTH, COMPASSION and PERSONAL SERVICE to effectively handle our clients' claims.

Getting Quality Medical Care After
A Personal Injury Accident

At the Law Offices of Ronald E. Sholes, we represent persons who have been seriously hurt in auto accidents, workplace and construction accidents, slip-and-fall injuries due to premises liability, and other circumstances involving negligence.   Depending on the circumstances, the injured party may be entitled to full compensation for ambulance or life-flight, hospital stays, pharmacy and drug costs, nurse visits, therapy sessions and loss of wages.   If you or someone in your family is facing a long recovery or even permanent disability resulting from brain or spine injury, reduced functions of arms and legs or other serious personal injury, contact one of the attorneys at our Jacksonville office.

Quality Care from Chiropractors, Orthopedists and Neurologists

Chiropractors offer patients alternative treatments to conventional health services and medicine.   Chiropractors identify problems with patients' shoulders, spines and various body parts that were injured or overworked.   They aim to care for injuries and discomfort by realigning patients' spines and utilizing alternative medicines.   Chiropractors believe that realigning the spine can put an end to invasive surgery.

Chiropractors diagnose problems centered on the patients' consultation, medical history, physical examination and X-ray results. After the problem has been recognized, a chiro-practor can try to correct it by adding pressure to the patient’s spine and muscles, thus easing built-up stress on spinal joints and nerves.   Although chiropractors do not perform surgery, they generally apply treatment plans and alternative medicines to assist their clients.   A chiropractor can use heat therapy, acupuncture sessions and deep-tissue massages to help relieve patients’ symptoms.

Although the majority of alternative therapies are not clinically proved to be used as successful medical procedures, many individuals truly have faith in the influence of alternative healing.

Orthopedists, or orthopedic doctors, are either medical doctors (MD) or doctors of osteopathy (DO) who specialize in treating conditions and injuries involving bones and connective tissue, including tendons, and ligaments. Orthopedists use a variety of treatments, including surgical interventions, casting, bracing and medications. Ortho-pedists treat a wide range of conditions related to the muscular and skeletal systems, from congenital problems such as brittle bone disease to acute problems such as car accidents and sports injuries.

Orthopedic specialties include joint replacement, pediatrics, spinal surgery, hand injuries, foot-and-ankle problems, and sports medicine. They commonly see individuals with broken bones, soft tissue injuries, arthritis and other joint problems, and other conditions that affect the spine or extremities.   Orthopedic doctors use a variety of treatments to restore or maintain optimal functioning of the muscular and skeletal system. Treatments must be customized to the individual's specific needs and may include one or more of the following: prescription medications to address inflammation and pain or speed tissue healing; use of orthotics or adaptive equipment; immobilization through bracing, splinting or casting; and surgery to repair broken bones or soft tissue.   Orthopedic doctors work closely with medical professionals from other health care fields and may refer patients to them for additional care. Orthopedists frequently prescribe physical or occupational therapy for patients to help them recover from surgery or injury and build or re-build muscular strength and endurance and balance. They may also refer individuals to neurosurgeons for problems that involve both the muscular/skeletal systems and the nervous system. During surgeries that involve the spine, and consequently the spinal cord, both a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon are present.

Orthopedic surgeons are trained to operate on the joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones.   Most orthopedic surgeons specialize in treating specific conditions, such as arthritis or hand or foot injuries.   Types of surgeries that are commonly performed by orthopedists include setting broken bones, replacing joints, repairing torn or ruptured ligaments and tendons and straightening abnormal curvatures of the spine.

A neurologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the study, diagnosis and treatment of injury and diseases of the nervous system.   This includes the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves throughout the body. Since the nervous system is essential to every bodily function, neurology is a vast area of study. Neurologists usually specialize in just few aspects of neurology.   A neurologist helps identify the source of problems with a patient's nervous system.   Loss of sight, hearing, smell, taste and the sensation of touch are often linked to neurological disorders.   The inability to perform normal motor functions are also symptoms of problems with the nervous system.   Neurologists examine issues with balance, reflexes and muscle strength.   They also try to identify the source of disorders of the brain such as loss of memory, speech and abstract thought.

Neurologists study many types of disorders. These include difficulty functioning following a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, sleep disorders and chronic pain due to conditions like migraines. They also focus on neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.   Brain surgeons are neurologists who perform procedures to remove brain tumors, spinal cord lesions and repair nerves.

Neurologists conduct tests on patients in order to make a diagnosis and recommend an appropriate treatment. These tests include scans like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Computed Axial Tomography (CAT scan). Neurologists also perform lumbar punctures (spinal taps) to examine the cerebrospinal fluid that coats the brain and spinal cord.   Electrical activity is studied with an electroencephalography (EEG) of the brain or an electromyography (EMG) of the muscles.

Neurologists sometimes work with psychiatrists to solve neurological problems, devise solutions and prevent future problems.   Neurology examines the physical functioning of the nervous system while psychiatry focuses on behavior.

Call the Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A., if you have questions about insurance and emergency medical care and aftercare for personal injury and accident cases.