The first exam, written as a protocol.

The Lab likes protocols because they remove the part where a hurt person has to improvise. This entry is the first exam at Missouri Injury Clinic written as one: who to call, what to say, what to carry, what happens in the room, and what you should walk out holding. Nothing here is a promise about what the clinician will find. It is a description of the visit as the clinic publishes it, plus the Lab's notes on how to make it go well.

Step one: pick the room you can drive to this week

There are three. North County is on Village Square in Hazelwood, off Lindbergh. South County is on Tesson Ferry Road near I-270 on the south side. Lake St. Louis is on West Terra Lane in O'Fallon, out past the Missouri River. The rooms entry has the addresses, hours, and phones in full. The Lab's rule is to choose by drive time, not by name. A neck that hurts to turn does not want forty minutes on I-270 when a room is ten minutes away.

Hours matter. Hazelwood and Tesson Ferry run Monday through Thursday 9 to 6 and Friday 9 to 12. O'Fallon runs Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9 to 6, with Wednesday and Friday by appointment. Every room closes daily from 12 to 2. Calling at 12:15 gets you a voicemail; calling at 9:05 gets you a person.

Step two: say the words "crash exam"

When someone picks up, state the lane. "I was in a car crash on Tuesday and I need an exam." Auto injuries are a published lane at this clinic, defined as diagnosis and a treatment plan after a crash, so the words land immediately and the front desk knows what kind of slot to look for. If your symptoms include fog, headache, screen trouble, or balance drift, say those too; the clinic publishes a TBI and concussion rehab lane and the front desk should hear the head symptoms up front.

If your problem is not one of the three published lanes, auto injuries, TBI and concussion rehab, or sports injuries, say so on the phone and let them tell you yes or no before you drive.

Step three: the inputs

1. Your insurance information. Ask the clinic directly how a visit is billed and what they accept. The Lab does not publish payment terms for a clinic it does not own.
2. The crash details as you know them: date, time, roughly where, what hit what, whether you were the driver or a passenger, whether the airbag fired, whether you were belted.
3. Any symptom notes. Even a phone note that says "Wednesday, could not turn left, headache by noon" is a measurement. The notebook entry explains why these notes matter: they are the readings the exam will be compared against.
4. 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.
5. A list of medications you take and any prior neck, back, or head injuries. Old readings are still readings.

Step four: what happens in the room

A history of the crash, in your words. A physical exam, which for a crash typically includes range of motion, an exam of how the neck and back move, and palpation of the painful areas. A diagnosis if the findings support one. A written plan you can repeat out loud. And a straight answer about whether this is the right room, or whether you need imaging, a referral, or a different specialty.

Ask the questions plainly. What did you find? What is the plan? How long before we should expect a change? What would make you send me somewhere else? A clinician who cannot answer those is not handing you a record worth keeping. Joseph L. Hollingsworth, DC, runs the clinic and is a chiropractor; this is a chiropractic injury clinic, not a law office, and the questions you bring should be clinical ones.

Step five: the outputs

You should leave with findings and a written treatment plan. The plan should say what is being treated, how often you are expected back, and what improvement is supposed to look like. Keep it. The notebook entry, a lab is only as good as its notebook, explains why the Lab treats that page as the most important object to come out of the week.

The bright line: when the clinic is the wrong call

One more bright line, quieter. If days or weeks have already passed, go anyway. A later exam is still a real exam. Being honest about the timeline is part of the record, and the clinic has heard "I thought it would go away" more times than you have said it.

Disclosure. This page is advertising. This desk is compensated for featuring Missouri Injury Clinic, and it is not the clinic, not a law office, and not a party to anyone's insurance claim. We publish only the lanes, rooms, and hours the clinic publishes on moinjuryclinic.com. We do not write reviews, rank providers, or give medical or legal advice. This entry is educational and is not medical advice.