Injury settlements are an exercise in bargaining with extremely high stakes. Depending on how severe your injuries are, you could be avoiding minor financial setbacks for a recoverable injury, financial ruin for a devastating injury, or any mixture in between. For your legal opponent, it's mostly an issue of paying as little as possible to make the problem go away. Here are a few injury compensation costs to keep in mind before accepting any agreement, just to make sure that your finances aren't hampered while ensuring the best recovery possible.
Secure Medical Bill Payments Before All Else
Your health comes first. No matter what your other settlement goals are, any kind of payout or special treatment will be so much better if you're healthy enough to enjoy it. You're not playing a game of financial freedom versus health; with the right planning, you can enjoy both.
Getting a number for your full medical cost is a multi-step process. Don't just get the bill from your current doctor and your past medical visits; you need to figure out the cost of future visits related to your injury. That alone gets a bit complicated, but a few calls can clear things up.
First, get a good estimate of how long it should take you to recover. Find out if you need to be referred to any specialists, and if your bill will change after consulting specialists. Let your medical team know about your injury settlement plans and speak with the business office, not just the doctor or nurse in charge of your care.
While the business office handles financial totals, a doctor, nurse, or specialist can help you figure out who may need to see you in the future. If your injury has any complications, this can either extend your medical issues or lead to being referred to another specialist if the problem is strange enough.
Costs include more than just hospital and clinical visits. Your medication, transportation, and lost wages need to be added.
Vocational Rehabilitation And Career Changes
Financial compensation isn't the only option. If your legal opponent can't afford to pay your settlement at all, you may not be able to collect everything. This isn't a decision to make on your own; an attorney needs to investigate their finances for you, and a mediator or court situation needs to verify your legal opponent's ability to pay.
Still, it's a good idea to have a backup plan.
It can be hard to tell how much your ability to work may change. You may have a slightly limp, or not be able to use your hands as well or as long as before the injury. These difficulties could last a few months or years after being declared healthy enough to work, or they may last for life.
Don't take on the burden of working through it. It's more work on your part for the same payout, and it could affect your career options if you're not able to work as well. No matter what kind of labor laws exist, it's hard to prove that your promotion or your entire job was lost because of a perceived injury and performance problem.
Instead, plan a backup career. Either with or without a good settlement payment, your legal opponent can be held responsible for job retraining or college tuition to get you into a lucrative new career. Speak with a team of work injury attorney, such as at Trammell and Mills Law Firm LLC, s and set up a plan for vocational rehabilitation, and discuss all of the other financials tied to your injury.