Be Alert To Allegations Of Preexisting Injuries After Your Car Accident

16 July 2019
 Categories: Law, Blog

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Dealing with almost anything after a car accident that left you injured is difficult. Unfortunately, insurance companies can make things even more difficult just when most accident victims trust them to be fair. To learn more about a major stumbling block they could throw in your way after an accident, read on.

When Medical Expenses Are High

For minor accidents, automobile insurers generally do a decent job of paying medical expenses and getting your transportation concerns worked out. You must consider, however, that auto insurers are businesses and they need to make a profit to stay viable. This fact can be made more evident when an accident is more serious and the medical expenses rise to higher levels. The more serious your injuries, the more medical care you will need. If you have an injury that requires multiple surgeries and rehabilitation afterward, you are probably looking at thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Things get even more costly when a driver is injured so badly that they are left with a long-term injury that continues to affect them for years. When your accident injuries are more costly, the insurance company may not be as cooperative as they might have appeared at first glance.

What High Medical Bills Mean to a Claim

Assuming that the other driver is 100% at fault for the accident, you would think that your path to compensation would be clear. With high dollar medical bills, however, the insurance company will employ a host of tactics to lessen that impact. You might already realize that medical expenses are part of what most insurance companies often willingly pay, but what you might not take into account is that you may be entitled to an additional form of damages that is based, in part, on the dollar amount of your medical expenses. Pain and suffering is not recognized by the insurance companies usually, but you can be paid for your pain and suffering by taking legal action against the other driver. Pain and suffering is based on your medical expenses. In fact, your pain and suffering literally multiplies your medical expenses to arrive at a settlement figure.

Reducing Your Medical Expenses

To keep the medical expenses claim as low as possible, you might be asked to submit your medical records to the insurance company for the other driver. The purpose of this is to ascertain previous injuries or medical conditions that they will claim is the cause of your medical condition and not the accident caused by their client. If you believe this to be the case, it's vital that you speak to a personal injury lawyer like those at The Harris Law Firm right away. You will need to fight those allegations or you could find your medical bills going unpaid.