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What Sort of Financial Compensation is Potentially Recoverable in a Personal Injury Case?
Suppose you and your personal injury attorneys can prove negligence from other parties involved in your accident claim. In that case, it may be possible to recover compensation to help you with medical bills, lost wages, and more. This financial compensation will be provided for economic and non-economic damages.
Potential financial recovery may include the following:
- Accommodation for new disabilities as a result of your injuries
- Disfigurement, disability, and dismemberment damages
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Lost wages and lost income earning capacity if the injured victim is unable to return to work
- Out-of-pocket expenses related to your accident and injuries
- Past medical bills, future medical expenses, and expenses for rehabilitation services
- Physical pain and suffering compensation
- Property damage, including motor vehicle repairs
- Reduced quality of life
- Wrongful death damages, including funeral expenses, memorial expenses, lost benefits, lost income, medical treatment before death, and more
Your total compensation will depend on several factors, including the severity of your injuries, the number of liable parties, insurance policies, and the need for ongoing medical care.
What Are Future Medical Expenses?
One crucial aspect of personal injury claims and victims seeking compensation is the consideration for future medical expenses. Not all personal injury victims will require compensation for future medical expenses, as many victims may regain full function and require no ongoing medical treatment shortly after the resolution of their personal injury claim. However, for others, it is not so simple.
Some personal injury victims may require long-term, ongoing medical treatment or rehabilitation services, which can cost a great deal of money. In such instances, the maximum compensation awarded to the victim or their family should take these future medical bills into account to ensure that the victims are not responsible for all expenses. It would be unfair for an accident victim to recover compensation only for their injuries and bills at the time of the accident and then be on the hook to pay for the expenses that come later.
What Are Common Examples of Future Medical Expenditures?
There are many different medical expenditures that personal injury victims may be forced to contend with in the months and years that follow an accident.
Examples of future medical expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Ambulance rides
- Charges for medical tests, diagnostic testing, MRIs, CT scans, and other tests meant to monitor progress or detect complications
- Considerations for specialized diets, nutritional supplements, and sessions with dietitians
- Further hospitalization and extended stays in the hospital for treatment, monitoring, or recovery
- Long-lasting medical equipment such as hospital beds, prosthetic devices, and specialized mattresses
- Long-term nursing care or home health care services
- Medical devices such as walkers, wheelchairs, home oxygen, and other assistive technologies
- Mental health therapy and counseling for family members affected by the injured party’s condition
- Modifications to the home, car, or residential environment to accommodate for new disabilities
- New clothing and accessories designed for individuals with disabilities or post-surgical needs
- Out-of-pocket expenses related to transportation to and from medical appointments, including specialized transport for mobility-impaired individuals
- Pain management programs
- Physical, occupational, speech, and other forms of rehabilitative therapy
- Psychological or psychiatric care, including mental health medications and therapy sessions
- Regular medical checkups, consultations with specialists, and ongoing treatment assessments
- Reimbursement for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medication, and any long-term pharmaceutical medical treatment
- Surgical procedures, including expenses for pre-surgery assessments and post-surgery follow-ups
- X-rays
- And more
Any of the above-mentioned future medical expenses can be very costly and can place a heavy burden on survivors and their families. With the help of a personal injury attorney, it is possible to hold the at-fault party accountable and seek compensation from them or their insurance company provider.
How to Prove and Calculate Future Medical Bills?
Many personal injury cases are resolved via settlements and never go to trial. To win an adequate settlement that addresses your future medical needs, it is highly recommended that you work with a personal injury lawyer to defend your legal rights and look after your interests.
Testimony from your physician, surgeon, or mental health therapy provider can be invaluable to your injury case. Your doctors can estimate your timeline for a full recovery and outline what kind of continuing medical care is necessary.
Financial analysis can help project the costs of long-term medical treatment and care. Your financial analyst will review and consider current healthcare costs, the potential for inflation, and other economic factors that may impact future medical expenses. Your analyst can provide a realistic estimate for future medical costs by analyzing various scenarios.
With the help of medical professionals, you can create a life care plan. This comprehensive document outlines the medical treatment and services you will require over your lifetime due to your injuries. Financial analysts can assist with the creation of life care plans.
Factors that will influence the total cost of future medical expenses can include the following:
- Age and life expectancy must be considered. Younger individuals with long life expectancies may face extended periods of necessary medical care, significantly impacting their future expenses. The longer the life expectancy, the longer the duration for medical treatment in most cases
- Individuals with preexisting conditions that their new injuries have exacerbated may face significantly higher medical bills. Additionally, a preexisting condition can complicate recovery and necessitate additional treatments
- Inflation will increase the overall cost of medical care in the future, necessitating a forward-thinking approach when it comes to estimating future costs
- Requirements for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other types of rehabilitation can also add to the cost of future medical expenses
- The severity of your injuries. For example, catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries often require lifelong care, which can result in higher future expenses
How Do Insurance Adjusters Calculate Future Damages?
Insurance companies regard future medical expenses as speculative and will likely downplay the severity of your injuries and the need for ongoing medical treatment. While it is true that sometimes people make spontaneous recoveries, more likely, we should put our trust in the words of our doctors and other physicians when predicting how long medical treatment will be necessary. Insurance companies are far more likely to offer compensation for the existing injuries and the medical bills incurred instead of paying you a settlement for potential future medical expenses.
As your legal representatives, our attorneys will represent you and negotiate with the insurance company for any future expenses that you may incur.
Should You Accept the Initial Offer from the Insurance Company?
Almost certainly not. Insurance companies are likely to offer lowball settlements to make a personal injury case go away. Their initial settlement offers are unlikely to take into account a complete understanding of future medical expenses and ongoing care. It is often in your best interests to negotiate with the insurance company for better terms with the help of your legal representation.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Today
As your lawyers, we will explore various ways of calculating future medical expenses, including the total lifestyle approach, the additional expense method, life care planning, and combining medical and financial assessments. The sooner we review your personal injury case, the more likely we are to help you reach a satisfactory conclusion and a fair settlement.
As your legal representative, we will be in your corner, fighting for what you deserve and require. To learn more about the benefits of retaining our legal services, please schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation with our legal team today.
You can reach us at 313-631-0502.
