Nobody prays or hopes to obtain an injury, but it happens anyway. One of the pressing concerns regarding personal injury cases in West Virginia is medical costs. Every attorney in the state could explain the vitality of understanding how these costs are calculated in settlements.
This post will explain the complexities around personal injury settlements and how to calculate future medical expenses. When you finish reading, you will have much of the required knowledge to secure a fair settlement for your future needs.
Do You Need Additional Medical Services?
There are several reasons why an injured person in a personal injury case might need future medical intervention. This intervention is an additional medical service usually required if the injured person is battling a severe injury. Here are some of the reasons one might need future medical intervention:
- They have suffered catastrophic wounds like head trauma and might never regain consciousness – that is, they will remain in a vegetative state. This kind of person will require round-the-clock treatment for the rest of their life, and that costs a lot of money.
- The injured individual’s prescribed treatment regimen might involve several stages, which may take months to years to complete. For example, if someone has a broken leg, they may need to undergo rehabilitation care for several months to regain use of the leg. Additionally, someone who has suffered severe burns will need their wounds to heal first before skin grafts can be performed in stages.
Even if you do not belong to either of these cases, you may have health goals your doctor wants you to achieve. Therefore, they might anticipate that you will need future medical treatment for your injuries or whatever complications they present.
Calculating Future Medical Expenses in a Court-Accepted Manner
Determining the cost of future medical expenses is complicated, to say the least; it is not something you can do yourself. First, an expert has to create a life care plan, which they will make when they expect the plaintiff to live with permanent disabilities. That is, the extra treatment will come after the initial treatments to reach maximum medical improvement.
On the other hand, you can also calculate future medical bills by itemizing and costing the specific procedures your doctor recommends. This approach is useful if your doctor expects that you will eventually heal and return to your health state pre-accident.
How to Get What You Need for Future Medical Treatments
To be awarded for future medical expenses, telling the judge you need additional medical attention is not enough. No court will require the defendant to write a blank check to cater to your needs. You must present evidence, including providing expert witness testimonies, to convince the court that you need future medical procedures.
The testimony of a medical expert will build support on why you need extra treatment and the cost. Meanwhile, your experts may not need to testify to the absolute importance of you getting the treatment. However, they have to estimate the cost of the future medical treatment in good faith, showing their allegations are most likely true.
Conclusion
“Personal injury cases in West Virginia are generally tough, but they are even more complicated when they involve future medical costs,” says personal injury attorney Jan Dils. You do not have to be afraid or consider your case unresolvable as it is not. Get the legal assistance of a seasoned personal injury attorney, working with experts like medical, life care plans, and vocational rehabilitation experts.
