Future Medical Expense Valuation After a Car Accident in St. Louis

Missouri personal injury law allows a car accident victim to seek compensation for all their tangible economic losses from the car crash. This will include your medical bills and loss of wages as you recover from your injuries. It also recognizes that future medical care may be needed and will allow you to be compensated for that.

When an insurance company jumps to offer a settlement, it may be because they believe the injuries you have sustained due to their client’s negligence are worthy of compensation for future medical care.

Future Medical Expense Valuation and Compensation

Your age, health, life expectancy, and long-term medical prognosis are all factored into a proper future medical expense valuation. This process helps determine the appropriate compensation for continued care—especially for victims with life-altering injuries.

The need for ongoing care after a car accident is prevalent. Catastrophic crashes can lead to significant trauma to a person’s body, including loss of cognitive functions from brain injuries. Spinal injuries and paralysis can also result, necessitating medical treatment for an undetermined amount of time. Some examples of the future necessary medical costs would include:

• Rehabilitative, physical, and occupational therapy costs
• Future surgeries 
• Diagnostic tests
• Prescription medication
• Counseling
• Hospital costs
• Nursing and caregiving services
• Clinic with specialized medical experts
• Massage care
• Home modifications such as unique showers, wheelchair ramps, or widened hallways
• Medical equipment such as crutches, hearing aids, or wheelchair

Since there is no unequivocal evidence of the amount future medical expenses will be, we would often rely on expert medical testimony to help determine what your future medical needs will most likely be and what they will cost.

Expert Witnesses in Future Medical Expense Valuation

Expert witnesses can testify and confirm your future medical costs claim has merit. In addition, your attorney can engage an economic expert to help determine the correct monetary value for your future medical care.

Maximum Medical Improvement

You may want to wait until you have reached your maximum medical improvement before settling your claim. At that point, you will probably have exhausted all the treatments, and your condition will be unlikely to improve. More importantly, your attorney and doctor will have enough time to understand your injuries’ severity and extent fully. This will enable them to determine the value of your future medical costs claim accurately.