Can I Be Compensated for Future Medical Treatments I Might Need?

When you’re in the midst of recovering from a serious car accident, your focus is on the immediate medical care you need—the surgery, the hospital stay, the first round of physical therapy. Your settlement claim is built, in part, on the mountain of medical bills you’ve already accumulated. But what about the care you will need a year from now? Five years from now? For the rest of your life?

If your doctor has told you that you will likely need another surgery, ongoing pain management, or lifelong prescription medication, a terrifying thought can arise: Who is going to pay for all of that long after the case is closed?

The answer is clear and essential to your long-term well-being: YES, you absolutely can and must be compensated for all reasonable and necessary future medical treatments. A fair settlement is not just about paying for your past losses; it is about providing for your future needs. Claiming these future damages is a critical part of any serious personal injury case.

Useful Information for You: In a Nutshell

• Yes, Future Medical Costs are a Key Part of Your Claim: A settlement must account for all the medical care your doctor reasonably expects you will need in the future as a result of the accident.
• This is a Category of “Economic Damages”: Just like your past medical bills, your future medical expenses are a specific, calculable damage you can claim.
• Expert Medical Opinion is Required: You cannot just guess what you will need. Your doctor or another medical expert must provide a professional opinion, based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty, about your future prognosis and treatment needs.
• You Cannot Settle Before These Costs are Known: This is the primary reason you must not rush to settle your case. You must wait until you have reached “Maximum Medical Improvement” (MMI) so your doctor can accurately predict your future care.
• What’s Covered: This can include future surgeries, physical therapy, prescription drugs, in-home care, medical equipment, and more.

What Counts as “Future Medical Expenses”?

A claim for future medical care can encompass a wide range of treatments and services that your doctor determines you will probably need to manage your injuries over time. This can include:

• Future Surgeries: Such as a knee or hip replacement years down the road, or a spinal fusion for a disc injury.
• Ongoing Physical Therapy or Chiropractic Care: For long-term management of chronic pain and mobility issues.
• Prescription Medications: The lifetime cost of necessary pain medication or other drugs.
• Pain Management: Procedures like steroid injections or other treatments to manage chronic pain.
• Medical Equipment: The cost of items like wheelchairs, braces, or modifications to your home.
• In-Home Nursing Care: For catastrophic injuries that require long-term assistance.

The Critical Question: How Do You Prove Future Costs?

This is the central challenge. Since these expenses have not happened yet, you must prove them with a high degree of certainty. This is not a matter of speculation.

The key is the expert opinion of medical professionals. To build a claim for future medical damages, your attorney will work with your treating physician or hire a medical expert to provide a formal opinion on:

1. The specific types of treatment you will likely need in the future.
2. The frequency of these treatments (e.g., physical therapy twice a month).
3. The expected duration of the treatment (e.g., for the next 20 years).
4. The projected cost of each treatment based on current medical billing.

In some cases, a “Life Care Planner”—a professional who specializes in assessing the long-term medical and financial needs of catastrophically injured individuals—will be hired to create a detailed, comprehensive report outlining every future cost.

Why You Must Not Settle Your Claim Too Early

The danger of accepting a quick settlement offer from an insurance company is that it will almost never account for these potential future costs. Once you sign a release, you can never go back and ask for more money, even if you discover you need a major surgery a year later.

It is absolutely essential that you wait until your medical condition has stabilized and your doctor can make a reasonably certain prognosis about your future. This point is called “Maximum Medical Improvement” (MMI). Rushing the process before you reach MMI is a gamble with your future health and financial stability.

Your right to future medical care is one of the most significant parts of your claim. If you have suffered a serious injury in a car accident in the Tacoma area, it is crucial to work with a legal professional who understands how to properly document and prove these complex damages. Search the Car Accident Lawyer Directory Tacoma to find and compare trusted local attorneys who can ensure your settlement provides not just for your past, but for your future.

References

• Washington Pattern Jury Instructions (WPI 30.07.01) – Damages—Future Medical Expenses:The official instruction for juries in Washington, which explains that they can award damages for “reasonable value of necessary medical care… reasonably certain to be required in the future.”

  https://www.courts.wa.gov/superiori/pattern_jury_instructions/WPI%2030.07.01%20Damages%20-%20Future%20Medical%20Expenses.pdf

• NOLO – “How are future medical expenses calculated in an injury case?”:A reputable legal resource providing a consumer-friendly guide to the process of proving and calculating future medical damages.

  https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-are-future-medical-expenses-calculated-in-an-injury-case.html

• Revised Code of Washington (RCW 4.16.080) – Actions limited to three years:The statute of limitations, which is the ultimate deadline before which a claim for all damages—past and future—must be settled or filed.

  https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.080