Auto Injury
Auto Injury Assessment & Treatment with Dr. Augustine, Chiropractic Physician, Wesley Chapel FL
Rapid assessment by a chiropractic physician, digital X-ray on site, and a medical team in the same building.
If you were just in a car accident, two clocks started. One is medical: the best day to be examined is the day it happened, because injuries found early are treated early. The other is legal: under Florida law you have 14 days to begin care, or your no-fault insurance pays nothing. Call today and we can often see you the same day, examined and treated in one visit instead of being sent across town for each piece of it. Founded by Dr. Brian Augustine, DC, this practice has handled auto accident injuries in Wesley Chapel since 2004. Call (813) 994-6008 or start with the Auto Injury Intake Form.
Florida is a no-fault state. Under Florida law, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays for your medical care after a crash, no matter who caused it. You do not have to prove fault, and you do not have to wait on a settlement to be treated. What you do have to do is begin care within 14 calendar days.
Two clocks: come in today if you can, 14 days is the law
The 14-day rule comes from Florida’s no-fault statute. To use the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage you already pay for, you must begin medical care within 14 calendar days of the accident. Weekends and holidays count. The day of the crash is day one. Miss the window and PIP pays nothing for your medical care.
We have watched this happen. A patient once called us on a Thursday. Day 14 fell on that Saturday, but they came in the following Monday, and nobody in that car had coverage. Two days cost them everything PIP would have paid.
The medical clock is not written into any statute. It is simply what experience teaches. The best time to be examined is the day of the accident, before you go anywhere else. If today is not possible, come tomorrow, or the first day you are able, but do not let it drift. Right after a crash adrenaline is up, and many people feel fine until two or three days later, when the aching starts. Being seen early lets us document what we find and begin care before the symptoms take hold.
- Dr. Augustine puts it this way: "Maybe it will go away" are the five most dangerous words after an accident.
Know Your PIP Benefits
The $2,500 question most clinics never mention
Florida’s PIP law has a second deadline that gets far less attention than the 14-day rule. Your PIP medical benefit is capped at $2,500 unless a qualified medical provider determines you had an emergency medical condition (EMC). With that determination on your chart, your available benefit is $10,000. Without it, $2,500. That is a $7,500 difference, and under the statute a chiropractor alone cannot make the determination. It must come from a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse.
At many chiropractic clinics, that means a referral to an outside office and another chance for the paperwork to fall through. Not here. Augustine Chiropractic has two nurse practitioners on staff, Heather Simmons, MSN, FNP, WCS-C, APRN and Nathaniel Morell-Gonzalez, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, and either can perform the EMC evaluation. It happens in our office, usually within days of your first visit and often the same or next day. Patients with real injuries normally have no problem qualifying, but someone has to actually perform and document the exam. We make sure it happens.
Injury Assessment
What we evaluate and treat after a car accident
Most crash injuries live in the soft tissue: the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, and joints. Nothing shows on the outside, but everything hurts.
Whiplash and neck injuries
Whiplash, known clinically as a cervical acceleration-deceleration injury, happens when the head is forced beyond its normal range of motion, hyperextension followed by hyperflexion. Patients say "my neck seized up" or "I just want to get checked." Left untreated, whiplash can settle into long-term pain and stiffness. Treated early, most cases resolve well.
Back pain and disc injuries
Rear-end collisions load the spine in ways it was never built for. We see muscle spasm, reduced range of motion, and radicular symptoms, which is the clinical word for pain that travels into an arm or leg because a nerve is irritated. Spinal decompression takes pressure off the discs, the nerves, and the joints.
Headaches and post-crash symptoms that are not pain
Not every crash injury announces itself as pain. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, and brain fog can follow even a minor collision, and they deserve evaluation just as much as a sore neck. A low-speed impact with little visible damage to the car can still transmit significant force to the people inside, because a car that does not crumple absorbs less of the crash energy for you.
The injuries you would not expect
In more than two decades of auto injury work, this practice has seen crash findings most clinics rarely encounter, including compression fractures of the spine at the T10 and T11 levels turned up on X-ray after trauma. Those patients are managed for pain and inflammation alongside the specialists who handle the fracture itself. Experience matters most in the cases that are not routine.
How we diagnose and treat, with what
Diagnosis comes first. In Florida, doctors of chiropractic are licensed as chiropractic physicians, which means they are trained and authorized to examine you, take and interpret X-rays, reach a diagnosis, and refer you to a medical specialist when your condition calls for one. That is how a first visit works here, and it is why the assessment is quick: we examine you, take digital X-rays on site with results in minutes and low radiation, and refer out for MRI at whichever imaging center is convenient to you when we need to see deeper. If your exam points to something that needs an orthopedist or a neurologist, we refer you and say so plainly.
Treatment is built from tools we can name:
- Leander flexion-extension table for comfortable lumbar adjusting
- Kennedy decompression tables, cervical and lumbar, to take pressure off discs and nerves
- Intersegmental traction tables
- Interferential therapy (electro-stimulation) for muscle spasm
- Erchonia low-level laser therapy across multiple wavelengths
- Ice and gel-pack therapy in the acute stage
A chiropractor and a medical team in the same building
Most chiropractic offices are exactly that: chiropractic only. After a crash, that means a referral somewhere else every time your recovery needs something a chiropractor cannot provide, and a gap between providers that you have to manage yourself while you are hurt and dealing with an insurance claim.
Augustine Chiropractic is an integrated practice. Dr. Brooke Andrews, a chiropractic physician, handles the chiropractic care. Heather Simmons and Nathaniel Morell-Gonzalez, both nurse practitioners, handle the medical side, in the same office and often on the same day. In practice that means:
- The EMC determination that protects your full PIP benefit, performed here rather than referred out
- Medical examinations and re-evaluations that document your injuries as they change, which matters for your recovery and your claim
- Prescriptions when your recovery calls for them
- Injections when they are indicated
- Digital X-ray on site, with MRI referral when we need to see deeper
- Telehealth follow-ups when you do not need to make the drive
ER first? Lawyer first? Here is how to decide
If you may have a serious head injury, you went through a windshield, or you cannot walk into an office, go to the emergency room. That is what it is for. For everything else, this is exactly what the free consultation is for: call us, describe what happened, and we will tell you honestly whether you belong in our office or the ER.
On attorneys: many of our patients have one, and that is your decision either way. Your health comes first, so get examined before day 14 regardless of what you decide about representation. If you already have an attorney, call us anyway. In most cases we work directly with them, sharing records and coordinating so you can concentrate on getting better.
Your first visit, start to finish, usually the same day
Call in the morning and we can often see you that afternoon. The point of a rapid assessment is not speed for its own sake: it is that the sooner we know what is wrong, the sooner treatment starts and the sooner the injury stops getting worse. In most cases treatment begins on that first visit.
- 1. Call (813) 994-6008 or complete the Auto Injury Intake Form online.
- 2. Call your own auto insurer and get your medical claim number.
- 3. Come in. We talk through the crash and your symptoms, at no charge.
- 4. If an examination is warranted, we examine you, take digital X-rays as needed, and document everything, which matters for both your recovery and your claim.
- 5. The EMC evaluation with one of our nurse practitioners is scheduled in-house, usually within days.
- 6. You leave with findings you understand and a plan with a timeline.
Bring your driver’s license, your auto insurance card, your medical claim number, your attorney’s information if you have one, and any records from an ER or urgent care visit.
How long until you are better?
The honest answer is: it depends on the severity of the accident. Many patients recover in 6 to 12 weeks. Harder cases take six months, and occasionally a year. Ligaments heal on their own timetable, and rushing them does not work. What we promise is a plan, honest reassessment along the way, and a goal we hold ourselves to: getting you back to pre-accident status. Patients tell us the moment they knew they were better was the day they got back to golf, the gym, running, or swimming. That is the standard we treat toward.
MEET YOUR CHIROPRACTOR
Dr. Brian J. Augustine, DC, CCSP, DACNB, DAAPM
Dr. Brian J. Augustine has practiced chiropractic since 1987 and founded Augustine Chiropractic Center, PA in Wesley Chapel in 2004.
He earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College, began his career in New Jersey, and owned Overlea-Fullerton Chiropractic Center in Baltimore for fourteen years before bringing his practice to Florida.
He is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP), a Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology (DACNB), and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management (DAAPM). Licensed in Florida since 1990, he is an active Trauma Team member with the Academy of Chiropractic.
OUR team
Meet The Team
Dr. Brooke Andrews
DC, CCSP, DACNB, DAAPM, founder and owner
Certified Acupuncturist
Heather Simmons
MSN, FNP, WCS-C, APRN · Family Nurse
Practitioner
Nathaniel Morell-Gonzalez
MSN, APRN, FNP-C · Family Nurse
Practitioner
patients say
Success Stories
Started coming here a long time ago after an accident, the treatment and care was top notch. They also offer Decompression therapy which was a game changer. Now years later I’ve returned for a “tune-up” since age is less forgiving. I still received great service and genuine care for my health as I did back then. The front desk truly makes your experience go smoothly while being very personable, he’s definitely an asset to the team.
Vanessa Maldonado
Dr. Brooke Andrews is phenomenal! I’m so happy I found her for my care. She is knowledgeable, caring, and truly effective. Hands down, choosing her was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my health! Go see her today!!
Friendly, knowledgeable staff with state of the art equipment. Customized therapy treatments for each patient’s needs. I’ve been a patient for 4 years and not only do I not have back pain anymore but I am running again pain free! I highly recommend!
Nick Weth
I can’t recommend Dr. Brooke enough! The care I receive is always top-notch, and I consistently feel relief within just a few hours after my visits. The entire team creates such a comfortable and welcoming environment (shout-out to Trey!) and I always leave feeling better – both physically and mentally. Highly recommend!
Faq
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you take car accident cases, and do you accept auto insurance?
I feel fine. Do I really need to come in?
What do I need before my first visit?
How long will it take for me to get better?
It depends on the severity of the accident. Most patients recover in 6 to 12 weeks; more severe injuries can take 6 months to a year. We give you a real timeline after your examination and update it honestly as you progress.
I was hurt changing a tire, not in a crash. Does that count?
I already have an attorney. What now?
Call us. In most cases we work directly with your attorney, coordinating records and billing so treatment is not interrupted while the case moves. Your job is the recovery; we help with the rest.
Areas We Serve
Ready to Start Feeling Better?
Trusted chiropractic care for back pain, neck pain, sports injuries, and auto accident recovery, serving Wesley Chapel and surrounding communities.
- Monday: 8 am - 12 pm – 2 - 6 pm
- Tuesday: 9 am - 12 pm – 2 - 6 pm
- Wednesday: 8 am - 12 pm – 2 - 6 pm
- Thursday: 9 am - 12 pm – 2 - 6 pm
- Friday: 8 am - 12 pm (Noon)
- Saturday: By appointment only
- Sunday: Closed
Under Florida’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) law, you must receive initial medical care within a strict 14-calendar-day window following your accident—which counts every single day including weekends and holidays—otherwise, your insurance provider is legally permitted to deny all PIP coverage for that claim.
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