Did you know that your damages in a personal injury case are not limited to bills you have incurred in the past? Future medical bills are often a substantial component of the damages calculation and can help tremendously with settlement negotiations or mediation.
One of our clients is from Florida and was visiting Lynchburg for a friend’s graduation. During her time in Lynchburg, she was a passenger in a car driving on Route 221. The driver had to slow down because they were driving through a construction site. Unfortunately, the driver behind them was not paying attention and was following too closely.
He rear-ended our client’s car going 55 miles per hour. The impact violently jolted both our client and the driver in her car. Thankfully, our client was wearing her seatbelt, but the airbags did not go off. The collision was violent enough to cause our client to go unconscious for a few minutes as a result of the jolt.
Our client was transported to the Lynchburg General Hospital emergency department and was diagnosed with a neck strain and later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Cervicogenic Headaches, Cerebral Concussive Syndrome, and many other injuries to her back. She had to obtain injections, therapy, and extensive medications to treat the injuries.
Although she incurred around $13,754 in medical expenses, her primary care physician estimated about 3% impairment to her whole body as a result of the injury.
The driver who rear-ended our client admitted to following too closely behind our client’s car. Our client came to us to make sure the matter would proceed without any issues. We sent a letter to the insurance company of the driver at fault and demanded not only payment for the $13,754 in past medical bills, but also additional compensation for future medical bills our client would incur based on doctors’ estimates and her life expectancy.
After attempting mediation (where the top offer was $32,000), we worked through a substantial amount of discovery and set the case for trial. Defense counsel sent us a letter advising that the top dollar on the case was $50,000. We kept pushing toward trial. The insurance company finally decided to settle the case for $72,500. Sometimes mediation works out, and sometimes it doesn’t.
If you have been involved in a car accident and sustained many injuries, your treatment could extend well into the future and making sure you include potential future expenses is essential to obtaining proper compensation at trial or through settlement. If you are unsure about what steps you need to take next for your case, you can contact us here at Osterbind Law, PLLC for a free strategy session.
