How You Can Recoup Medical Expenses After an Arizona Accident
If you have been injured in an accident by a negligent party, the law in Arizona says that you can recoup damages you incurred for past and future medical costs. That means that the immediate medical treatment you required for your injuries, as well as any ongoing treatments and therapies that you will be facing, can be covered by the negligent party who did you harm.
Depending on the types of injuries you sustained and their severity you could be looking at long-term treatments including:
- Multiple surgeries
- Ongoing physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Holistic interventions
- Psychological treatment
- Professional management of chronic pain
- Medications and prescriptions
- Diagnostic treatments
These are just a couple of examples of the types of specialty doctors and treatments one may need after a severe injury from an accident. The cost that is associated with these interventions and treatments are expensive and they add up fast. In a personal injury claim, medical expenses alone are often the most significant portion of your claim. This is why medical expenses are targeted by insurance companies and defendants. They claim that the amount of treatment and the type of treatment you received and claim to need aren’t rational or plausible to get them out of paying this bulk amount in the final settlement.
What Are Past Medical Expenses?
The cost of any type of treatment or therapy that you received before litigation is considered a past expense. Keeping your medical records, doctors’ notes, billing records, and receipts are important to calculate your costs. If you don’t keep your documentation, you will have to use your memory and assumptions to calculate your costs. Amounts based on information that is not tangible are easily picked apart and you could lose out on obtaining reimbursement for the payments you actually incurred.
What Charges Are Considered Reasonable?
It is not uncommon to have the defense argue that your medical treatment and care were nontraditional, perilous, or frivolous so they shouldn’t have to pay for it all or even pay for any of it. There are situations where this may be the case. But if you have documentation to back up why you needed the treatments you obtained, you can fight these assertions.
An example is a high-risk surgical intervention. When you sustained bumps and bruises, maybe a broken bone a surgical procedure that is not well-known and fraught with risk may not be considered reasonable. However, if you sustained substantial injuries that are life-threatening and there aren’t other options that you can utilize, a risky surgery makes more sense.
What Are Future Medical Expenses?
Unlike past medical expenses where a plaintiff can produce physical documentation on costs, future medical costs will need to be evaluated and estimated. Medical expert’s opinions and reasonable cost projections are necessary.
Defining the costs associated with your accident is best left to the experienced Arizona serious injury attorneys at ELG. Our team of Phoenix car accident attorneys offers victims in Arizona many years of experience providing effective and strong legal representation. We have a proven record of success fighting for and winning the highest amount of compensation for our clients.
Call the lawyers at ELG today at (623) 562-3838 to set up a free consultation at either of our locations in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona where you can discuss your accident experience.
