After a serious car collision, it may be some time before injured victims can move about again without pain. Their injuries may not heal after a single trip to an emergency room or even after a month of physical therapy.
When injuries linger, victims may need to ask for compensation from an at-fault driver before their injuries have completely healed. In these cases, it may be necessary to estimate the cost of future care for the victim, so those future expenses can be figured into a fair car accident settlement. There are ways to estimate these costs, so victims don’t end up getting stuck with medical bills years down the road.
Estimating Your Future Healthcare Expenses After a Car Accident
Most car accident injuries do heal at some point. Under normal circumstances, you would wait until you fully recovered to file an accident claim with an at-fault driver’s auto insurer. Then, it would be a simple matter to total all of your hospital bills, doctor bills, surgeon fees, and physical therapy costs. These bills would be passed along to an at-fault driver’s car insurance provider.
Unfortunately, not all injuries are so predictable. Some injuries can develop into long-term ailments. Some victims develop permanent physical disabilities that will require care for a lifetime. These cases can depend on the concept of “maximum medical recovery.” This means you’ve healed as much as possible and it’s time to seek compensation to cover past medical bills and the care you’ll require in the future.
Most victims wouldn’t be able to wait months or years to get help paying their hospital bills and replacing lost paychecks while they are out of work. They may need full support before they reach maximum medical recovery. They’d have to file an accident claim that included estimates of the care they may need in the coming years or over the rest of their lives.
Your car accident attorney will help you gather the evidence you need and the estimates to base your request for compensation on. Your lawyer would utilize these resources and others to prove what you’d need to maintain your normal life through recovery:
- Your medical charts. The information on your medical charts should clearly show what you’ve been through and the difficult and expensive road ahead.
- Testimony from your physicians and surgeons. Your doctor can speak to the diagnosis of a long-term illness, the efforts you’ve made to recover, and the outlook for the future.
- Testimony from medical experts. Expert witnesses may not have treated you, but they will have the expertise to speak about how your life will change due to an injury and the surgeries and care you may need down the road.
No matter how long recovery takes, car insurance adjusters will likely be trying to downplay your injury and the pain you’ve suffered. They hope to limit the support you receive and may even leave you with bills to pay out of your own pocket.
Your California car accident lawyer is your safeguard against this treatment. Your lawyer investigates what happened to you and makes sure you receive the care you need and that the care is fully documented. With strong evidence in hand, your lawyer demands everything you need to rebuild and maintain your life with a long-term injury.
What Types of Things Can I Receive Compensation For After a Car Accident?
Your medical bills in the first few weeks after a traffic collision will be easy to total and include in a car accident claim. But if you’ll be receiving care for weeks or months, it’s critical to get accurate estimates on future costs from experts. You’ll want an attorney with experience working with medical professionals to assess how much patients will need to support themselves and their families.
Your Maison Law representative lists every hardship you’ve endured to this point and the hardships that lie down the road. Everything must be considered when negotiating the size of your car accident settlement check.
- Hospital and medical expenses and those expected in the future.
- Money to pay for future surgeries and physical therapy if they become necessary.
- Costs associated with a long-term injury or permanent physical disability. This can include the cost of home care or nursing care. The cost of medical equipment and renovations to your home, allowing you to live in your house with as much freedom as possible.
- Support for the physical pain you endure and will endure.
- Support for the emotional anguish you’ll endure and the difficulties you’ll have in the future. This can include bouts of depression and anxiety that arise after an accident and major injury.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Loss of consortium (Intimate Relationships).
- Earnings you’ve lost while missing work. Lifetime support if you are unable to return to your former job due to a long-lasting injury.
- Damage or destruction of property.
Finding Support for Victims After a California Accident
If you or a loved one are ever injured in an accident caused by a careless driver, make sure the at-fault driver’s insurance company is held fully accountable. That accountability should include support for as long as your injury affects your life.
Talk to an experienced California car accident lawyer about your case in a free consultation session before deciding on your next move. This case review comes with no obligation. If you decide we can help you earn more for your injury claim, you won’t need to have any money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check a car insurance company provides.
