Chris Boykins

DC | 10+ yrs PI chiropractic. Depo prep & documentation for new DCs — your patient data never leaves your hands. Course + coaching soon. Free weekly drops ↓

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Your first deposition as a chiropractor will expose every documentation habit you didn’t know you had.

10+ years in PI taught me what new DCs are never trained for.

Here’s the part nobody warns you about 👇

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Anyone can list findings.

The skill is explaining why they matter.

A positive orthopedic test isn’t the story.

A restricted range of motion isn’t the story.

The story is what those findings mean for that patient.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Most documentation errors happen the same way.

The doctor notices something interesting…

…and stops gathering information.

Observation becomes conclusion too early.

Good clinicians observe first.

Then they verify.

Then they document.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Deposition Tactic #1

When the questioning gets difficult, shift into teacher mode.

Attorneys ask questions.

Doctors explain concepts.

For MRIs, teach the anatomy:

• Nucleus pulposus
• Annulus fibrosis
• Intervertebral disc

Teach the concept, control the discussion.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Most chiropractors are taught to find abnormalities.

Expert witnesses are trained to find relationships.

Symptoms.

Findings.

Imaging.

Function.

The question isn’t whether each piece exists.

The question is whether the pieces fit together.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Everyone looks competent with comfortable conditions.

The real test comes when:

• The attorney pushes

• The carrier denies care

• The IME disagrees

• Records are scrutinized

• The deposition hits minute 20

That's when weaknesses emerge—and preparation becomes visible

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

The best initial exams aren’t interrogations.

They’re investigative.

No random fact-finding.

They spotlight:

• What changed?
• When did it change?
• Why did it change?
• How has it affected function?

That’s how narratives get built.

That’s how cases become defensible.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Being a father has taught me something I didn’t fully appreciate before:

The people watching you rarely do what you say.

They do what you do.

That’s true at home.

It’s true in the clinic.

It’s true in leadership.

Happy Father’s Day dads, keep setting the example.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

The attorney isn’t comparing your testimony to what you meant.

They’re comparing it to what you documented.

That’s why consistency matters more than memory.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Most chiropractors think depositions test knowledge.

They don’t.

They test consistency.

Consistency in:

• Your history
• Your exam findings
• Your diagnosis
• Your treatment plan
• Your testimony

Knowledge gets you through the first question.

Consistency gets you by 20

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Most chiropractors think depositions test knowledge.

They don’t.

They test consistency.

Consistency in:

• Your history
• Your exam findings
• Your diagnosis
• Your treatment plan
• Your testimony

Knowledge gets you through the first question.

Consistency gets you by 20

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

@DrAlexAtiakshev Agreed. Pain has a tendency to distraction the patient from the main cause. Load response gives us a better indication of the cause.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Reminder🚨: LET THE STORY TELL ITSELF

Your job IS NOT to inflate PI case value.

Your job IS to document so well the story tells itself.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

My goal is NOT to help chiropractors answer deposition questions.

The goal IS to help chiropractors create records that answer those questions before they’re ever asked.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Most Chiros experience depositions this way.

PHASE 1:
Initial questioning.
Heart rate increases.
Sweaty palms.
Anxiety.

PHASE 2:
You settle in.
Confidence returns.
Rhythm develops.

PHASE 3:
The attorney finds the weak spot.

The difficult questions begin.

Pressure rises again

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

A disc bulge means almost nothing by itself.

One MRI finding.

One orthopedic test.

One symptom.

None of them matter without context.

Experts don’t chase isolated findings.

They identify patterns.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

TWO DIFFERENT STANDARDS:

Most chiropractors document for today’s visit.

Expert witnesses document for a deposition years later.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Write down red-flag “nuggets” the moment you hear them.

Dizziness.

Memory trouble.

Sleep disruption.

Concentration problems.

Don’t trust yourself to remember them later and reconstruct them at the end of the report.

The details you lose are often the ones that matter most.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

💧 A water droplet taught me more about deposition preparation than most CE courses.

Drip.

Pause.

Drip.

Pause.

Instead of rushing underneath it, I stopped and studied the pattern.

That’s what expert witnesses do.

They don’t react.

They observe first.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Never let treatment be driven by patient preference in the moment.

If there’s pushback—that’s a conversation.

But the plan still comes from clinical reasoning.

Lead it.

Explain it.

Document it clearly.

[Chris Boykins @chirosystems]

Every symptom matched to its objective finding, imaging, and diagnosis.

That’s the job.

ROM findings.

Orthopedic tests.

Neurological findings.

Muscle testing.

Everything pointing in the same direction.

When the picture assembles itself, you don’t have to argue for it.