One problem in the United States plagues about 50 million people: lack of health insurance.  Many Americans do not have basic coverage to help pay medical bills in the event of sickness or personal injury.

An alternative for some people is to use in-store clinics called “minute clinics.”  These clinics can be found in many pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens not to mention big-box stores like Wal-Mart.  While the minute clinics cannot treat major personal injury, minute clinics can in fact treat give vaccines and treatment for minor problems.

Minute clinics are popular alternatives to treat personal injuries, but they could cause more in the long-term.

Our firm’s San Diego personal injury attorneys realize the benefits of minute clinics, but we are concerned that people with serious personal injury without health insurance will use these as a way to get treatment.

For example, whiplash from a car accident, can feel like a stiff neck, so a person with this injury will think a few pain pills will do the trick.  In reality, that neck pain can be the first stage of more serious spinal cord injury that can result in paralysis (i.e. paraplegia & quadriplegia).

Today, there are about 1,200 of these clinics which generate over $550 million in annual revenue.  In the past 13 years, at least 190 emergency rooms have responded by closing their doors.

In 2007, the American Medical Association called for an investigation into these clinics arguing these drugstores have a conflict of interest.  For instance, these clinics may be under a lot of pressure to write prescriptions and can write too many as a result.

Personal injury should not be treated lightly.  A quick clinic is no substitute for a doctor who can tell you exactly what is wrong and suggest the right treatment before the personal injury becomes more severe.

Our personal injury lawyers in San Diego urge people with personal injury to make sure they get a full diagnosis from a doctor if personal injury occurs.  What you may think is a simple injury can eventually lead to be more serious as well as possibly crippling or fatal.

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced San Diego personal injury attorney and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery.