Why Should You Ask for Future Medical Expenses After an Injury?

Everyone who is injured in an accident and who needs compensation for medical expenses should make sure their future medical expenses are included in their settlement. This is because once you accept a settlement, you legally cannot request more money later, even if the compensation runs out before your medical bills do.

Why You Need Compensation for Future Medical Expenses

It is likely that you will need more medical care than just the treatment you get at the hospital immediately following your car crash or other injury-causing accident. You may still need continuing treatment even after you’ve settled your claim.

If these future expenses aren’t accounted for in your settlement because you only asked for enough to cover your upfront medical expenses, you may be left paying for these future costs related to your crash out of your own pocket.

Some common ongoing or future medical expenses include:

• Prescription medication
• Injections
• Surgery
• Assistive equipment such as crutches or wheelchairs
• Physical therapy or rehabilitation
• Follow-up appointments with your doctor to check on the progress of your recovery
• Transportation to medical appointments
• Ongoing in-home care
• Modifications to home and vehicle, such as a wheelchair ramp or lift

When your injuries are because of someone else’s carelessness, you deserve to be compensated for all of these costs.

How to Calculate Future Medical Expenses

Because of the difficulty in calculating future medical expenses, many attorneys will recommend waiting to settle a claim until after the injury victim has completely recovered. However, this isn’t always possible, especially when the victim may never get back to the level of physical health they were at before the accident.

There is no way to know precisely how much money you will need for all your future medical costs and pain related to your injury, but an experienced personal injury attorney will be able to help you determine how much money to ask for based on their work with previous clients who suffered similar injuries to yours.

Your lawyer will typically work with your doctor, who can make an estimate for how much and what kinds of treatment they think you will need and how long that treatment will take. In cases that require compensation for future medical expenses, your legal team may also hire expert witnesses, including medical professionals and/or economic experts, to testify on how much money you will need.

Some factors that may be taken into consideration when calculating your future medical expenses will likely include:

• The effectiveness of treatment and whether additional treatment will be required (for example, a common injury for car crash victims is a torn ACL, which requires reconstructive surgery to treat. The surgery has a roughly 90% success rate, so there is a 1 in 10 chance that it will fail and you will need revision surgery)
• Whether there are alternative treatment options that are as effective but more affordable
• How much the cost of treatment may increase over time due to inflation
• How much treatment the injury victim may need over the course of their lifetime based on their age, life expectancy, and general health before the accident

You are entitled to future medical expenses after an injury that wasn’t your fault, but insurance companies count on the fact that you don’t know that. That means they can offer you less money than you deserve and keep their own profits high. Don’t let them get away with denying you the full compensation you need and deserve.

Because the amount of compensation you need will likely be unique to you, you will need to speak to a lawyer about how much you should ask for in future medical expenses if you plan to pursue an injury claim. Call Joye Law Firm today for a completely free case evaluation.

When You’re Been Injured Through Someone Else’s Negligence, Call Joye Law Firm

After a serious injury that’s left you in pain and unable to do the things you normally do, the last thing you want is the headache of arguing with insurance companies and dealing with bills. That’s why you need an experienced lawyer on your side, and we want to be the ones to help.

We’ll carefully review all the facts related to your injury and the ways it’s affected your life, including the amount of pain it’s caused you, and help determine fair compensation. And we won’t settle for anything less.

Contact us today so our South Carolina injury lawyers can start fighting for you.

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Is it Medical Malpractice or Is It Medical Negligence?

When we talk about holding people liable when they harm other people, we often talk about “negligence.” The injury victim needs to prove that the at-fault party was negligent, meaning they didn’t take reasonable care to prevent harm. In a car accident, that might mean not using a turn signal before changing lanes. In a medical setting, that might mean not checking whether a patient was allergic to any drugs before administering them.

Does that mean all cases of medical negligence are grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit? No. And not all bad outcomes are examples of medical negligence. However, if you’re seeking compensation after being harmed by a healthcare professional, you will need to hire a lawyer that knows and understands the difference.

What is a Bad Outcome?

A bad outcome can refer to any situation where a patient’s health worsens after treatment. But a bad outcome does not always mean negligence was involved. You are never guaranteed a successful medical outcome.

For example, a particular surgery may have a 90% success rate. Although that means the surgery is generally very safe, it still means 10% of people who undergo the surgery may experience complications, even if the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and attending nurses did everything right.

In another example, someone prescribed a medication could suffer no negative side effects, while another person with the same condition and level of general health could suffer from every negative side effect listed on the warning label. Healthcare providers must provide the treatment that they believe will provide the best likelihood of a good outcome.

Fault could come into play, however, if the surgeon did not inform the patient of the success rate of the surgery beforehand, or did not discuss alternate treatment options with less severe potential side effects.

What is Medical Negligence?

Sometimes bad outcomes are the fault of negligence. Medical negligence is when an entirely preventable mistake occurs that results in harm to the patient.

For example, many doctors perform examinations with latex gloves. If a patient was allergic to latex, but the doctor made an honest mistake and forgot to ask before beginning the examination which resulted in the patient developing an allergic reaction, it could be an example of negligence. Further, people who are allergic to latex are also often allergic to certain foods, including tomatoes. If a doctor sees that a patient’s chart lists a tomato allergy, they know that their patient may also have a latex allergy. If they decide not to ask about a latex allergy or to take precautions, and then the patient develops an allergic reaction to the latex gloves, this could also be an example of negligence because the doctor’s deliberate action (or inaction) caused the patient harm.

A more extreme example of medical negligence could be a surgeon, nurse, or other operating room medical provider accidentally leaving a sponge behind in a patient after a surgery.

Other extreme examples of medical negligence could include failing to order a necessary diagnostic test, leading to a delayed diagnosis that severely worsened a patient’s health, or ordering an unnecessary surgery to make more money off the patient.

What is Medical Malpractice?

In South Carolina law, the terms medical malpractice and medical negligence are interchangeable. However, that doesn’t mean that every incident of medical negligence rises to the level of needing to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In fact, South Carolina law sets the bar  higher for bringing medical negligence suits than in other personal injury matters.

For example, before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit you must first go through a series of procedural hurdles, including filing an affidavit from a court-qualified medical expert witness saying they believe medically negligent action (or inaction) caused your harm and violated state laws.

If you are unsure whether the medical negligence that caused your illness or injury qualifies for a malpractice lawsuit, we recommend calling Joye Law Firm today. We’ll arrange a confidential consultation with a registered nurse, and an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney will provide a free case evaluation.

How Do I Prove Malpractice?

To have a successful medical malpractice or negligence claim, the victim must be able to prove the following:

• The victim had a doctor/patient relationship with the healthcare provider who harmed them.
• The healthcare provider breached the duty of care owed to the victim (meaning they did not act how any other well-intentioned doctor with the same knowledge would).
• The victim was directly harmed because of this breach of care (meaning it was not simply a bad outcome unrelated to negligence).
• The victim suffered damages (usually meaning worsened physical health that required additional treatment, as well as worsened emotional health or even additional physical pain).

Health care providers are well-protected against medical malpractice claims, which means pursuing a lawsuit can require an intense investigation and a lot of evidence, making them almost impossible to win on your own. Having a personal injury lawyer specifically experienced with medical malpractice claims to navigate this process can make a huge difference.

Contact Us Today for a Free Medical Malpractice Case Evaluation

Medical malpractice claims are typically far more complex and difficult to win than other types of personal injury. For most victims of medical malpractice, you have three years from the date of the malpractice, or three years from the date you became aware of the malpractice (up to six years from the date of the malpractice itself) to file a claim. So, don’t let it pass you by and miss your chance for deserved compensation.

Medical malpractice is often expensive, and even deadly, for victims. If you or someone you love experienced medical malpractice, call our firm today to learn what your next steps should be.

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What Is Included in a Lawyer’s Costs and Fees?

One of the most common reasons why people decide not to hire a lawyer after they are injured through someone else’s negligence is because they think that they can’t afford it.

However, most personal injury lawyers, including the team at Joye Law Firm, do not charge an hourly fee. Instead, they work on contingency, which means you only have to pay your lawyer if you win your claim. And that means everyone can afford to hire a lawyer, since there are never any upfront costs.

At our firm, even your initial consultation is free. And you don’t need to pay out of pocket at the end of the day either, since your lawyer’s fees and any additional legal costs will be taken out of the settlement amount.

What Is a Typical Lawyer Fee?

The average lawyer fee for a personal injury settlement is between 33-40%, although this number can vary depending on the difficulty of the case. For example, cases that go to trial take longer than those that are settled out of court, so the lawyer’s fees will be on the higher side of that scale. This is compensation for your lawyer’s time and all the work put into your case.

However, you may also be responsible for paying some additional legal expenses. These are unrelated to your lawyer’s payment, and make up the costs required to move a case forward. It’s very rare for law firms to ask clients to pay these costs as they arise; instead, the law firm will typically pay them for you, and get reimbursement from your settlement.

This blog attempts to break down what costs you may be responsible for paying after wrapping up your personal injury lawsuit.

Costs and Expenses of Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

The majority of these costs only apply to cases that proceed to trial, because the U.S. court system passes many of the costs associated with conducting a trial onto the people requesting the trial. However, depending on the circumstances and needs of your own claim, some of these costs may still apply.

• Police Report and Medical Record Fees – Police stations and hospitals often charge to release copies of these records, which are necessary evidence in most personal injury cases.
• Filing Fees and Postage – It is no surprise that filing a lawsuit involves a lot of paperwork. Your lawyer can ask to be reimbursed for the postage and processing fees they paid to the court when submitting the lawsuit. Although it may chafe to be asked to pay postage when it seems a small expense to the firm, they do this because when paying small postage amounts many times over for many clients, it can add up to a significant expense in the firm’s operating budget.
• Deposition/Court Reporter Fees – A stenographer will sit in on your deposition (which is a common part of many injury claims even when they do not proceed as far a trial) and a court reporter will sit in on your trial to make transcripts. You will be charged a fee for a copy of these transcripts (usually per page) to pay them for their time and for copy costs.
• Witness Fees – This refers to expert witnesses rather than witnesses to the accident. Your lawyer may hire experts to testify in your case, and these witnesses need to be paid. Aside from your lawyer fee, this will likely be the largest fee associated with your case. Examples of expert witnesses in a car crash claim could include a doctor explaining why you needed a specific surgery for your injuries, an economist explaining how much income you will lose over the course of your lifetime if you became disabled, or an accident reconstructionist offering their expert opinion on how the crash occurred. If a witness needs to be flown in, you may also be charged for their travel expenses.
• Jury Fees – When civil cases proceed to trial, jury fees (the amount paid to jury members while serving on the jury) are paid by the party seeking a jury trial.

There may be other fees in addition to these, but these are the primary fees that victims of negligence may be required to pay when pursing a personal injury lawsuit.

Making a Difference in the Lives of South Carolinians

Joye Law Firm has been serving our fair state for more than 50 years. We have five convenient office locations across the state, and we’re proud to work on a contingency fee to help South Carolinians get the compensation and justice they deserved after being harmed through the careless and negligent actions of others. We also pride ourselves on our  “no fee guarantee,” meaning our clients never pay a fee or costs if we can’t secure a financial recovery for them.

The last thing an injury victim who is already struggling with bills needs is to have to scrounge to pay for a lawyer who may be their only opportunity to get fair compensation.

If you have questions about whether a lawyer can help you and how much it may cost, don’t hesitate to contact our firm today and we’ll answer your questions and address any concerns you may have.

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How to Help Your Injury Lawyer Win Your Case

Personal injury cases are usually David-and-Goliath stories. They’re about average people hurt by the careless or deliberate negligence of a large corporation, or dismissed by a faceless insurance adjuster. So hiring a personal injury lawyer to defend you is already one huge step that you can take to massively improve your chances of fighting back successfully and getting the compensation you rightfully deserve.

That said, it helps to consider the relationship between you and your lawyer as a partnership. We’ll work hard to gather evidence, build a case, and make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed so your case can’t be easily ignored or denied. But your own actions following an accident can also impact whether you win your claim and how much compensation you get.

Your lawyer will be able to advise you on what to do if you are unsure, but there are five major steps every injury victim should take. We address each below.

1. Act Fast

Every state has a “statute of limitations” on personal injury claims, which is a time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit after an injury that wasn’t your fault. In South Carolina, this period is usually three years, starting from the day of the injury.

That may sound like a long time, but it can pass much quicker than you think. Maybe you were in a car accident but hoped your injury would recover on its own. When it didn’t and you discovered you’ll need surgery that you can’t afford without compensation, it may have already been weeks or even months since the crash. And you could lose even more time attempting to negotiate with the insurance company for the amount you actually need before finally determining that you’ll need to file a lawsuit.

In addition to that, evidence is cleaned up or lost, witnesses move away or can’t be found again, and memories naturally fade over time. It’s much easier for your attorney to put together a bullet-proof case proving someone else caused your injuries when the accident is still fresh than when it occurred a year or more earlier.

2. Document Everything

Everything related to your accident can be important in proving your case, including:

• The police report
• Photos of the damage to your vehicle, the scene of the crash, and of your injuries
• Contact information and statements from witnesses
• Receipts for medical treatment and vehicle repair
• Notes on when you received treatment and what was discussed in each doctor’s appointment

You may also consider starting a personal injury journal or diary documenting your levels of pain each day and the ways your accident has affected your emotional health and daily life.

3. Don’t Make Guesses or Accusations

When you are asked about how the accident occurred, you should never admit fault, but you should also always be truthful. This means sticking only to the facts and never offering opinions or guesses.

For example, if you aren’t sure what time the crash happened or how fast the other person was driving, simply say “I don’t know.” If you say what time you thought it happened or how fast you thought they were driving, but later evidence proves you wrong, it can cast doubt on your entire story even though it was an innocent mistake.

4. Do Everything Your Doctor Says

Sometimes people don’t attend follow-up appointments with their doctor, never schedule physical therapy when it’s recommended by their doctor, or don’t finish taking their prescribed medications. There are many reasons this could be true, such as concern about the cost. However, when you are seen “avoiding” treatment, the insurance company will take this as proof that you don’t actually need the treatment and aren’t as injured as you say, and will use it as an excuse to deny you compensation or reduce the amount they give you.

5. Take a Break from Social Media

It’s natural to want to update friends and family on social sites like Facebook and Twitter after a major, potentially life-changing injury, but any type of social post could be damaging to your claim. And not just posts about your accident, either.

You will be under close scrutiny from the insurance company, who will be looking for reasons to deny your claim, and they are not above digging through your social profiles and those of people close to you. They may attempt to twist what they see as evidence that you are exaggerating your injuries. Even a photo where you look happy could be offered as evidence you are not experiencing pain or distress from your injury.

Let Joye Law Firm Get to Work for You

While all these actions can make a serious difference in your case’s chances of success for the better, they are primarily intended to give your lawyer a leg up. This is so that you can relax and focus on getting better after an accident, and leave all the frustrating work and communication with the insurance company to your lawyer, who is happy to fight for you.

After an injury, stand up for yourself by hiring an experienced South Carolina injury lawyer, and call Joye Law Firm today.

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