Medical Treatment and Your Damages Amount

The term medical special damages refer to the amount you have spent on medical bills while having your injuries diagnosed and treated. They make up a part of the formula insurance adjusters use to determine a claimant’s total damages. Medical special damages are a key component of most personal injury cases. A key factor in medical special damages is the type of medical treatment a patient receives and the type of medical providers that treated the patient.

Types of medical treatment:

Based on one’s insurance claim it must be noted that not all medical treatment is equal. Both the type and time spent in a medical facility or service can affect how insurance companies perceive a claim or treatment. Consider the following factors:

• Treatment and diagnosis – at times the diagnosis process is quite quick and as a result the charge for the diagnosis makes up a small part of the entire medical bill as compared to the cost of treatment. Where this occurs, the insurance company does not distinguish the two and lump the medical bills together. In other situations, doctors will put a patient through tests and examinations in a bid to diagnose the patient which increases the diagnosis part of the medical bill. In the event where the diagnosis bill is very high and the treatment of the injury cost is low, the insurance adjuster may not view the medical specials as accurately reflecting the injured person’s pain and suffering.
• Medical doctors and hospitals vs. nonmedical doctors – treatments by doctors, hospitals, medical clinics and medical physicians are more favored as compared to treatment rendered by nonmedical physicians or practitioners, such as, chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists etc. Treatments received by a medical doctor, hospital or clinic no matter how expensive, will be considered as legitimate by almost any insurance adjuster and will be given a higher multiplier in the damage formula. However, treatments by non-physicians and nonmedical providers, while equally effective and much less costly, will receive lower multipliers.
• Duration of treatment – logic states that if an injury receives a long period of treatment, then the injury requires a long period for healing which thus translates to a high degree of pain and suffering. Therefore, if you undergo a long period of treatment you can argue to the insurance adjuster that the long treatment was evidence of the seriousness of the injury. However, insurance adjusters are said to be suspicious of nonmedical physicians or treatments (like acupuncture, physical therapy, chiropractic) and may not consider long treatments administered by nonmedical physicians as evidence of the seriousness of the injury; as compared to if you had received a long period of treatment from a medical physician, hospital or medical clinic.

While such aspects may seem trivial, these have a bearing on one’s settlement amount offered by the insurance adjuster. It is of great importance to receive advice from attorneys who handle personal injury matters. If you had a car accident in Anchorage seek out a law firm of personal injury lawyers.

For advice relating to personal injury matters, the author recommends the Crowson Law Group.

Are you a victim of medical malpractice? If you are looking for accident claims advice, the author recommends the Crowson Law Group.