If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you have the right to expect compensation for your losses. But what happens if your losses extend into the future, and you don’t actually have receipts or bills for them yet? A car accident lawyer in San Antonio can help you figure out how to claim for future medical expenses.
Can I Claim Compensation for Future Medical Expenses After a Car Accident Injury?
What Counts?
Legally, your future medical expenses will be anything that you can prove is “reasonable and necessary” to treat the injuries that you have suffered because of someone else’s negligence. The most common types of ongoing medical expenses are rehabilitation or physical therapy treatments, long-term medication requirements, surgical procedures that you have to wait to get, or other types of ongoing treatments. In some worst-case scenarios, an accident can lead to a permanent disability that requires specialized care or lifetime ongoing treatment. Obviously, these expenses can really add up.
The Process
As we all know, medical care is wildly expensive, and the final cost can be very difficult to project. That’s why you want a qualified lawyer on your side; someone who has been down this road before and who thoroughly understands how to calculate these sorts of expenses accurately. Find out more here.
To make a proper calculation, your lawyer is going to need a few things:
1. Medical Evidence
This is the simplest and most straightforward thing that you will need. You’ll want all the records of your treatment and the prognosis you’ve been given so far. You’ll also need all your test results, any scans or diagnostic imaging, and the bills that have been issued.
2. Expert Help
There are two types of experts you’ll need. First, you need doctors and specialists who can evaluate your physical needs and what your condition will be like going forward. You need them for estimating how long it will take for you to heal, when you might be able to go back to work, what kind of permanent disabilities you might be looking at, etc. These experts can also testify about what treatments they believe you’re going to need in the future.
They are not the only experts you are likely to need, however, particularly if you’ve been badly injured. Healthcare planners understand not so much the medicine but the costs. They can take a look at the treatments your doctor is saying that you’re going to need and estimate what the cost will be. In some cases, you will also need lifecare planners. These professionals are skilled at helping you figure out how your life may need to be adjusted to accommodate a new disability. For example, you may need job training for a different career or modifications to your home to enable you to live in it comfortably.
Your lawyer will work with all these experts to come up with the right number for compensation. If you’ve been injured, contact a personal injury law attorney as soon as you can so you can get started on your future.