Welcome back as we continue to talk about how to settle your case with the insurance company. Remembering my disclaimer, we don’t recommend it. We have 25 years of experience and we can help you get every dollar you deserve. But I want to inform you so you have the knowledge and power on how to negotiate with the adjuster if you choose to do it on your own. So, what’s up next?
Permanency. Permanency is a very complicated concept and if you have a permanent condition, I strongly advise you to call us. What does a permanent condition means? It means that the doctor has indicated you’ve reached MMI. That stands for maximum medical improvement.
That means you’re not going to get any better. You’re as good as you’re going to get. Now, if you were at your baseline and you were 100% you’ve completely recovered, you wouldn’t have a permanent condition. You’ve reached maximum medical improvement and you’re all better. However, if you’ve reached maximum medical improvement and the doctor says you haven’t reached your baseline and you have a permanent condition that’s going to last the rest of your life and he has to certify that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. So, in his opinion, this condition is as good as it’s going to get and you’re not recovered. That has a value and that value is based on the percentage of loss of use. We consider you a whole pie. Before the accident, you are 100%. After the accident, you’ve lost some use of your whole body.
Whatever that percentage is, the doctor has to rate it, certify it, and put it in a document. That loss of use has a value. How much? There’s really no formula that I can tell you to how to calculate it, right? So, it depends.
What was your wage earnings? And have you lost the ability to earn the same wages?
Do you need a life care plan? Are there things that we have to put in place to help you continue with your life, right?
So, let’s say that you became a paraplegic. You’re in a wheelchair. We have to put an elevator in your house. You need a stair chair climber. All sorts of equipment, right? And it’s going to totally affect the rest of your life. Or you have a much more simpler permanency and you have some back injuries, but you’re able to do your normal daily routine, but it’s just changed, right? Your range of motion. You can’t play tennis anymore, but you can still go to work. That all has a value, and it’s hard to calculate without having the experience that we bring to the table. So, call us and we can help you. If not, ask for a lot of money because depending on the permanency, it’s tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars. We’d love to help you. Good luck.
