Auto Accident Survival

This fellow above is my Dad. He happens to be one of the foremost experts on all issues Automotive and Auto Insurance. He makes his living as a Consumer Advocate and ally, helping common folk navigate the adversarial world of Auto Insurance disagreements.

I had the opportunity to interview him over lunch and asked what info he wished folks knew, before they got into an accident, that would make his task battling Insurance companies timelier and easier. Enjoy this video and go in ready to advocate for, and take care of… yourself. Insurance companies will be watching their own back – not yours.

This ended up being an important video for me to make. It helped me bring the foundations of my own dubious attitude toward Insurance and Western Medicine to clarity. My father and I shared a unique experience while I was growing up, that profoundly influenced the people we have become today, and shaped the services we have to offer our communities.

I’m going to share this experience:

When my father was 17, he was in an automobile accident that resulted in a plate implanted in his skull – a newly developing technology at the time- it was secured using only soft tissue to hold it in place, no screws, no wires, just tissue. It worked well enough, allowing him to live freely, avoiding only the largest shocks for safety (He was denied enlisting, as the military felt the concussion of a howitzer firing could be enough to dislodge the plate – perhaps I owe my very existence to this plate!)
In the mid 1980’s, he got hit broadside in another auto accident, striking his head and dislodging the plate. This was before MRI’s were used for diagnosis and the imaging technology was limited as to the insight it could provide. He headed down a long slope of physical degeneration and disability that Western Medicine failed to understand at the time. His pain made work difficult and his successful Auto Fleet and Lease company began to fail as he could not be present.
He had Disability Insurance and Auto Insurance to cover his risk for these kinds of events and filed his claims to get everything covered. His regular MD treated him with painkillers and steroids to combat the discomfort and inflammation, but the ongoing use of corticosteroids only furthered the soft tissue degeneration. As this unfolded, he found himself involved in arbitration with his Disability Insurance as they fought his claim tooth and nail. The Insurance company pulled out their aces up their sleeves- in the form of IME’s (Independent Medical Examinations) from doctors they chose. How is a doctor who receives their referrals from Insurance Companies independent? You tell me! – The term that entered my vocabulary at that time was “Insurance Company Whores” -Medical Doctors who maintain an ongoing relationship with insurance companies, in a win-win situation where the doctor spins diagnosis to favor insurance, and in turn insurance continues to fill their office with patients.
The IME whor… wait, I mean Docs, came back with the diagnosis that my fathers problems were imagined, and his discomfort was psychosomatic (a physical illusion created by thoughts in his head). Binding arbitration sided with the Insurance company and denied his disability claim with no recourse for appeal and no other options left. So I watched my father lose everything he worked for and had secured against risk with insurance, at the hands of healers that didn’t help him, and a legal and Insurance system that didn’t protect him.
Late 1980’s: business bankrupt, body failing, MRI’s enter the picture as their diagnostic capability was realized. Lo and behold, the IME whores were close- it did all start in his head! MRI’s were able to show the plate in his skull had been dislodged from it’s soft tissue moorings, and had moved in nearly 3 mm exerting pressure on his Dura and Neocortex creating a cascade of nerve damage throughout his body. MRI also found multiple spinal disc problems as a result of the nerve damage and ongoing steroid treatment.
By the mid 90’s he had been treated surgically numerous times and now has multiple vertebral fusions in both lumbar and cervical spine plus a new Kevlar Plate in his skull (Although he won’t let me test the bullet-proof properties of the Kevlar ; )).
My witnessing the utter failure of our Medical, Legal and Insurance systems to aid my Father was one of the first major turning points for my life direction. It undermined any trust these institutions told me I should have in them, and I’ve sought trust in myself as my best advocate for health and happiness ever since.
It’s great to look back upstream and see how I got here, learning, refining and creating revolutionary pain treatments based on empowering individuals to activate their own innate healing abilities, and find trust in their internal authority.
I’m proud to be an advocate working against the profit driven medical and drug industries, and I’m proud of my Dad for turning his suffering into service of the community, fighting against for-profit Insurance on the little guys behalf. Two peas forced to grow in the same pod, for-profit Insurance & Medicine will someday regret they handed us the pod ; ).
Hopefully this helps you understand why I won’t accept your Medical Insurance Plan, (Until the US provides a single payer system- then I will gladly take your insurance.) and why I will help you heal, and deal with your auto accident as completely and quickly as possible. I’ll get you in touch with the right advocates and the fast track to having it all behind you. Have questions? My dad and I are here for you.

No more profit from suffering! Share comfort freely,

Thanks for reading and watching,
Aaron

PS: Happy Birthday Dad. I’m glad you survived.