A publication that only covers one beat hears the same questions over and over, and that is a feature, not a problem. The questions below are the ones that arrive most often from the river city after a wreck. The answers are general and they are short. None of them is medical or legal advice, and several of them end the same way: call a room, say it was a car crash, and get examined this week.
I feel fine after my crash. Do I still need an exam?
Probably worth it. Crash symptoms commonly appear one to three days after impact, once the adrenaline is gone and the inflammation has built. A clean exam is quick and closes the question; a missed injury is neither quick nor cheap. This desk uses a three-day rule: anything stiff, sore, foggy, or off inside three days is a reason to be examined this week.
Is this a law firm?
No. Missouri Injury Clinic is a chiropractic injury clinic run by Joseph L. Hollingsworth, DC, a chiropractor. This publication is advertising for that clinic, and it is about getting examined and treated. It is not a law office, it does not give legal advice, and it is not a party to anyone's insurance claim.
How fast can I be seen after a wreck?
Call the room you can drive to and say it was a car crash. The clinic publishes auto injuries as a lane of its own, diagnosis and a treatment plan, and a front desk that hears the words car crash knows what to book. This desk does not promise a specific wait time; ask on the call. All three rooms close from 12 to 2 daily, so call in the morning or after 2.
Which room is closest for south city and south county?
The Tesson Ferry room at 11144 Tesson Ferry Road, Suite 200, Saint Louis, MO 63123. Call (314) 530-5480. Hours are Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm and Friday 9am to 12pm, closed daily from 12 to 2. Hazelwood covers the north county and O'Fallon covers St. Charles County.
What if I hit my head, or just feel foggy?
Say so when you call, so the exam is scoped for it. A brain can be injured by a sudden stop with no blow to the head. The clinic publishes a TBI and concussion rehab lane with tools it names on its site: oculomotor rehabilitation, neurofeedback, vagus nerve stimulation at the tragus, Alpha Stim, sensory motor integration, exercise with oxygen, and cognitive rehabilitation software. A headache that keeps getting worse, repeated vomiting, or confusion that deepens is an emergency room trip now, not a clinic call.
What should I bring to the first visit?
Yourself, your insurance information if you have it, whatever you know about the crash, and any emergency room paperwork if you went. If you already have an attorney, bring their contact so records can be sent where they need to go. You do not need to have decided anything about a claim before you get examined.
What actually happens at the first visit?
History, hands-on examination, findings, and a written plan. The clinician takes the story of the crash and of your body since, tests the spine and any joints that took load, checks the nervous system, and, if the head came up, the eyes and balance. You leave with findings and a plan you can repeat out loud, not a vague suggestion to rest.
It was just a fender bender. Does that matter?
Bumper damage and neck injury do not track each other closely in either direction. A modern bumper is built to absorb a slow hit and spring back, which says nothing about what your neck did inside. The car's condition is not the test; an examination is.
I went to the emergency room and they said I was fine. Am I done?
The ER ruled out the emergency, which is its job. The discharge paper that says follow up is not the follow-up. The exam that writes down the neck, the headache, and the plan for both still has to happen, and the week after the crash is when it does the most good. Bring the ER paperwork; it becomes part of the record.
What is the record, and why does this desk keep bringing it up?
The record is the clinical chart a clinician builds while examining you: history, exam findings, diagnosis, written plan, and visit notes, all dated. It is a care document first; it exists so the next clinician works from facts, not memory. If a claim is ever part of your story, the dated record from the first exam is what everyone will ask for. Either way it only exists if you go.
I help people who were hurt in crashes. Can I send someone here?
Yes. Call the nearest room directly with the person's name, a number that reaches them, one sentence on what happened and when, where it hurts today, and which room is the shorter drive. The clinic examines crash patients and documents findings and the plan in a dated record. No arrangements beyond ordinary scheduling are implied here, and this desk does not coordinate anything.
Days or weeks have already passed. Is it too late?
No. Go anyway. A later exam is still a real exam, and being honest about the timeline is part of the record. Waiting longer does not make the gap smaller.
What does a visit cost, and what insurance is taken?
Ask the clinic directly on the phone. This desk does not publish payment terms for a clinic it does not own and will not describe an arrangement it cannot verify.
The one answer under all of them
Chest pain, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, a loss of bowel or bladder control, or a head injury with vomiting or worsening confusion is an emergency room trip right now, not a call to a clinic. Everything else that hurts, aches, fogs, or will not turn after a crash belongs in a planned exam within the week. Missouri Injury Clinic publishes three rooms for that and three lanes: auto injuries with diagnosis and a treatment plan, TBI and concussion rehab, and sports injuries. A documented exam this week protects your health and your options. That is the whole argument of this desk, and it does not get more complicated than that.
Educational only. Nothing on this page is medical advice or a diagnosis; a licensed clinician who has examined you is the person to ask. Facts about the clinic come from moinjuryclinic.com. Emergency symptoms go to the emergency room, not to a clinic or a website.