How Is The Cost Of Future Medical Care Determined In An Auto Accident Claim In Arkansas?

Many times after being released from medical care, you are in a state of Maximum Medical Improvement in which you may not be back to your previous level of health, but you are at a plateau. After release, they will estimate what further treatment will be needed over the course of the coming years, which also comes with an estimated cost. A doctor is able to testify about that because of their medical experience, skills, training, and education.

Once you decide on one doctor and begin seeing specialists, you will need to decide on conservative treatment and potential surgery. When we get to that point, we have to show that you will be permanently impaired and permanently in treatment for a number of years based on the doctor’s opinion. After this, we must prove the cost of each of the necessary therapies.

So anything that we can do to get the primary treating physician to record their opinion, then the better we are able to prove your claim. I like to tell clients that we are like your warriors, and you need to give us ammo. That ammo is evidence from the doctors in the form of records, studies, testimony, estimates of future care, and we use that evidence to fight for your claim.

Who Is Choosing The Doctors To Evaluate The Value Of My Medical Treatments?

We always tell people to treat with whoever they feel comfortable with, which means the primary physician for many people. From there, their primary care physician either refers them to a chiropractor or a physical therapist. Once you try conservative treatment and it does not work, you go back to your primary care physician. They refer you out to a specialist to treat any specific problems you may have.

How Are The Injured Parties Paying For Their Medical Treatment While Their Claim Is Pending?

If you have health insurance, we always tell our clients to use that first because your health insurance will get you discounts if they are in-network with the provider you are seeing. They’ll get you a deal, and you only have to pay a co-pay or deductible. Whenever it comes time to settle your case, we will need to use the total bill value. It doesn’t matter if it’s all been paid by health insurance. We’ll settle up with health insurance whenever we settle your case and pay them back whenever your health insurance contracts say to pay them back. Health insurance is always the first option because it gets you into more doctors, many of which won’t see you unless you’ve got health insurance.

Some doctors will treat you on a lien, in which they file a document at the courthouse that guarantees they will get paid out of any settlement or any recovery that you get out of a third party. They’ll hold the bill, and they’ll get paid whenever you get paid, in a similar manner to some attorneys. It’s not contingent as some of your other bills may be, but they hold off on collection till your case is over. Often, people are injured, go to the hospital, don’t have any other way to pay, and the hospital sets them up with Medicaid. Many of our clients are Medicaid or Medicare eligible. Medicaid and Medicare have super liens from your settlement, meaning they don’t have to file a lien on your settlement. Our job as your attorney is to notify them that you have a claim and then stay in contact with them to see what their interest is to pay back from the settlement.

If you do get a bill from any provider and worry about it going to collections, we always tell our clients to protect their credit if that’s important to you and make minimum payments every month. Most doctors, hospitals, and health care providers will not sue you if you are making progress, and then you’ll get paid back when your case settles. We advise not paying your medical bills as you get them in because we work out reductions on your behalf at the end of your claim. If the account is paid in full, then there is no bill to negotiate.

For more information on Determining Future Medical Costs In An Injury Claim, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (479) 337-7077 today.