Gilbert Hakim, DC

After the birth of my first child, I had issues with pelvic separation that made it difficult for the first 9 weeks of my son’s life. I saw multiple specialists and who’s best advice was to take pain medication and wear a girdle. After one adjustment with Gilbert, the issue was completely remedied and never returned. I continued to see Gilbert regularly for years, including through out my second pregnancy and I was thrilled to have a very comfortable pregnancy and successful issue-​free delivery. Gilbert personifies the ideal bedside manner. He is open, caring, communicative and has a very precise and gentle touch when adjusting. I also greatly appreciate his thoughtful use of heat and other supportive technology. Each visit feels healing and respectful and I leave refreshed. Can’t recommend highly enough!

I used to have back problems! That is, until I started seen Dr. Hakim. I did see him regularly for a few years, after being recommended when I was flattened by pain for a second time in my life and I could barely walk. I had never been to a chiropractor before but had been to Cedars Sinai for terrible back pain in the past and had an MRI, which DR. Gilbert asked to look at. Cedars had prescribed Naproxen and other things, but I didn’t care to take drugs for something that I felt was caused by low exercise and a particularly high-​stress situation I had endured. Dr. Gilbert seemed to agree. On this second attack of pain I saw him instead of returning to Cedars and his adjustments were terrific, but along with this, he suggested simple exercises and habits to do that appeared to get me to a place where I have little back pain at all anymore. He really has an intuitive sense of how to heal. Highly recommended.

I started seeing Dr Hakim in 2009 for unexplained neck pain and hip soreness.
I had never been to a chiropractor so I was not sure what to expect. He came very highly recommended by a mutual friend.
After his initial evaluation and due to my age and gender and past medical history, he recommended a series of x-​rays to properly assess my heath issues before he started to treat me, and was able to determine what the underlying cause of my aches and pains was.
When the results of the x-​rays came back, he took his time and explained them to me, step-​by-​step, pointing out the areas of concern and all of my treatment options, and corrected them. I was very happy! Even though he moved away, I still have phone consultations with him and send him x-​rays and other medical test results for him to review. I trust him implicitly.
Most recently It was suggested that I might have bone cancer after reviewing current x-​rays by my GP. He suggested an MRI and a bone biopsy. I sent my x-​rays to Dr. Hakim for a second opinion. Immediately upon reviewing my films, he called me with the good news that it was not a bone malignancy and nothing more than just a bony shadow on the film. Sure enough, after the MRI, the radiologist confirmed Dr. Hakim’s diagnosis. Not only did Dr. Hakim NOT charge me, but he saved me the huge expense of an unneeded bone biopsy and painful experience. I am so grateful!

I went to see Dr. Hakim three years ago. He was recommended to me by his brother who is a friend and former colleague of mine. It was the the first time I’d ever been to a chiropractor. It seemed simple enough. Go in, pay a copay, get your back aligned, neck cracked… etc.
While I was seeing Dr. Hakim my wife was in a car accident. Her car was totaled when someone rear ended her. She had whip lash and missed work. Her doctor had her going to physical therapy etc. During one of my sessions with Dr. Hakim I mentioned my wife had been in an accident. He was insistent that my wife needed to see him right away. That he was trained in helping people recover from such injuries as he waived at his wall of diplomas and accreditations.
Never having been in a serious car accident and never having dealt with whip lash my wife wanted to try anything and everything she could to give herself the best chance of a full recovery. So she went to see Dr Hakim. For whatever reason, he wouldn’t allow her to use our insurance (which covered 20 chiropractic visits a year). He said, we’ll just settle up when you get your settlement from the lawsuit. (The guy who hit my wife was negligent and he hit her going very fast so there was a lawsuit involved). This was the first red flag. Next he ordered my wife to get an MRI on her neck. Her GP didn’t order this, nor did the physical therapist, but Dr. Hakim insisted upon it. Again, he said, don’t pay, put it on the bill that goes toward the lawsuit.
My wife and I have never been through something like this. We didn’t know who to listen to. Dr. Hakim said he had been through this a number of times, that he goes to court to testify for people, to give expert testimony, etc. so we did what he said.
After a few weeks my wife didn’t feel the chiropractic visits were helping her so she stopped seeing Dr. Hakim and focused solely on physical therapy which she did three times a week for a few months. Thankfully she made a full recovery.
She tried settling up with Dr. Hakim when she stopped seeing him. He wouldn’t allow it. He wanted to be paid when the settlement was reached. How often do you offer to pay someone and they won’t allow it? My wife and I were perplexed.
After two and a half years the lawsuit was finally settled this month. My wife was paid $ 15,000 in damages. The lawyer took $ 3700 or so, and there was a $ 900 fee from Dr. Gilbert Hakim and a $ 700 fee for an MRI so my wife received less than $ 10,000 for her life being turned upside down for a six months.
Had Dr. Hakim allowed us to run his fees through insurance they would have been totally covered (except for $ 150 in copays). Again, he wouldn’t allow us to do this. I imagine this is because the negotiated rate he gets from an insurance company for an office visit is less than what he knew he’d get from our settlement. Our lawyer contacted the company who did the MRI. They reduced their bill from $ 2400 to $ 700 (again something that would have been largely covered had we been advised to go through our insurance rather than the settlement). When our lawyer contacted Dr. Hakim’s office he discounted his original bill from $ 1000 to $ 900. That’s $ 750 more than she would have paid had this gone through our insurance as it should have.
We haven’t lost sight of what’s important here: My wife is healthy again… We’re glad this ordeal is over but needless to say, neither of us will be having our backs adjusted anytime soon!