Future Medical Bills In A Motorcycle Accident Claim
Motorcycle accidents usually involve injuries to you and your passenger, even at relatively low speeds. If the bike falls over because you lost control, you are exposed to hard pavement and risk an impact with another motor vehicle or other object. If you collide with another vehicle, you will be ejected and will strike the roadway, another vehicle or whatever may lie between you and the ground. Consequently, the likelihood of sustaining serious injuries is substantial as is the likelihood of incurring future medical bills. Future medical expenses include future surgeries, pain management, rehabilitation or other care even after your condition has appeared to stabilize.
Medical care is expensive for nearly any type of treatment. If you were injured in a motorcycle accident and required immediate treatment, you would incur costs for the ambulance, emergency medical care, diagnostic tests and a stay in the hospital if the injuries are severe. It is not uncommon for motorcycle accident victims to suffer broken or crushed bones or pelvis, facial fractures, severe burns, disfigurement, internal injuries and spinal cord injuries Costs for this care is usually presented as past medical expenses since they are incurred before negotiations begin for settling your claim.
Most compensation for an injury claim is paid from the negligent party’s liability insurance policy, including damages for medical expenses. To recover past medical expenses or those that have been paid, you usually just need to offer copies of the bills or documents from medical professionals reflecting their cost. If disputed, then your medical provider has to offer testimony that the care you received was necessary for the type of injuries you sustained and that the costs were reasonable.
Medical expenses in an accident injury claim may include:
- Ambulance and emergency medical
- Hospital
- Diagnostic tests
- Surgical
- Individual fees of surgeon and other doctors
- Therapy and rehabilitation
- Prescription
- Pain management
- Psychological trauma–depression or PTSD
Should you suffer a serious injury, it is likely that you will require ongoing care or possible surgery in the future. You can include future medical care in your injury claim or lawsuit, but you will need a medical report or testimony from a medical doctor who has knowledge of the care you will need and the costs involved.
The standard for proving that the future care is needed and that it will cost a certain amount varies among the states. For the most part, your medical expert will need to state that future care will be required for your injuries to a reasonable medical certainty or probability and that its cost is reasonably estimated to be within a particular range.