Personal Injury Claim: Get the Right Medical Treatment

Bringing forth a personal injury claim may allow the injured party to also recover “medical special damages.” These damages typically include those costs that are associated with you having your injuries diagnosed, treated, or both. While these damages are typically calculated as part of the total damages you incur, different factors could lead insurance adjusters to either include or exclude certain costs from their injury damages formula.

Not All Medical Services are Created Equal

It should come as no surprise that an insurance adjuster will seek to limit the amount of money that injured individuals receive; insurance agencies are a business, after all. Insurance adjuster does so by categorizing diagnosis and treatment as two different kinds of medical services, in addition to evaluating additional variables.

By treating diagnosis and treatment as different medical services, insurance agencies are able to reduce their overall payout in better-suited situations. Whenever procedures for diagnosis are relatively minimal and inexpensive, many insurance providers will actually lump those costs into total damages. This means that, overall, the insurance agency is more likely to have to cover fewer costs. If an injured party requires several examinations for purposes of diagnosis, an insurance agency may be more reluctant to include those examination costs in the total lump sum. This is so because more tests can run up expensive medical bills despite the fact that the required treatment is minor and limited. Because diagnosis has little to do with an individual’s pain and suffering, it is not unexpected for the insurance provider to cover less of the total damages stemming from medical bills.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy may perhaps be the most common form of medical treatment in personal injury cases. This form of treatment is, however, without complications when reviewed by insurance agencies for purposes of determining medical special damages. Rather, despite the common prescription of physical therapy, medical special damages may be discounted for some of the following reasons:

  • Insurance believes the amount of physical therapy prescribed exceeds a reasonable limit or makes up too much of the total treatment bill;
  • Physical therapy was prescribed by a doctor but treatment was received outside of the recommending doctor’s office;
  • Physical therapy was not prescribed–instead, it was sought independently–and insurance believes it is last beyond a reasonable period for treatment.

Preferences for Western Medicine

One area in today’s treatments that may cause complications when seeking medical special damages occurs whenever an individual seeks alternative medicine. While forms of alternative medicines provide individuals with treatment and results, many insurance agencies seem to discount its use. Although individuals may find that insurance will cover treatments using alternative medicine, limited portions are covered.

Call 856-227-2434 today for a free consultation

Do not allow yourself to be exploited by insurance companies trying to pad their pockets. If you have suffered personal injury, you should be entitled to reasonable compensation to cover those expenses necessary to recover. Retaining an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney helps you get the representation necessary to take on the insurance companies and receive the medical special damages you deserve. To speak with New Jersey personal injury lawyer, call John C. Iannellli today at 856-227-2434.

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