Posted on Monday, February 27th, 2017 at 1:23 am
My doctor and my attorney are talking about maximum medical improvement (MMI) as a factor in my accident claim. What is MMI how does it impact my accident claim?
What is Maximum Medical Improvement?
Maximum medical improvement (MMI) is a medical term to describe the point when you have recovered as much as you will recover from your accident. In other words, your body has healed as much as it can, and your condition is not expected to improve anymore given time. For some people, MMI is a complete recovery. Unfortunately for other people, MMI means they have suffered a permanent disability because their body cannot recover completely from the injuries sustained in the accident. For example, a person with a spinal cord injury may reach MMI but be partially paralyzed due to the spinal cord injury.
Why Is Diagnosing MMI Important?
Knowing when you reach MMI is very important for your accident claim. It is impossible to know the full extent of your damages without knowing whether you will have a permanent disability when you reach MMI. Therefore, it is vital that you don’t settle your accident claim until your doctor advises you that you have reached MMI. If you settle your accident claim before reaching MMI, you could be losing thousands of dollars in compensation for your damages.
Settling your claim quickly may seem tempting, especially if you are out of work and you need the money to help pay your bills. The insurance company for the other driver knows you may need money now and it may take advantage of this need by offering you a low amount to settle your case now. However, once you sign the release to settle your claim, you lose the right to go back to request additional compensation if you find out your injuries are more severe than you believed them to be when you signed the release.
In addition, these releases contain clauses that release all parties from any further liability. Therefore, if you discover that you have a claim against a third party, you are still barred from filing a claim against that party because you settled with the other driver.
Waiting is Your Best Option
It is difficult but waiting until you reach MMI is your best option for receiving the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. After reaching MMI, your doctor can provide valuable information that can help your attorney calculate the amount of compensation you should receive for future medical expenses and future lost wages in addition to the damages you have incurred to date. Without this information, it is impossible to calculate the true value of your accident claim.
Call an Experienced Sacramento Accident Attorney
A less experienced personal injury attorney may rush your claim to settle it as early as possible. However, our experienced Sacramento personal injury attorneys understand the importance of waiting until you reach MMI before calculating the value of your claim and sending a settlement demand to the insurance company for the other party.
Call the Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000 or talk with a representative on our website. Our Sacrament accident attorneys help injury victims and their families in Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville, El Dorado Hills and other communities in the greater Sacramento area.
