Personal injury litigation is an extremely complex process for plaintiffs’ attorneys, defense attorneys, and injured victims. While plaintiffs’ attorneys and defense attorneys are experts in the law, personal injury cases often require the assistance and assistance of medical experts to review and understand the implications of the medical evidence and medical bills associated with the case.
When an accident occurs, the plaintiff under the tort law has the right to seek justice from the person, person or entity suspected of causing the loss. In the American jurisprudential system, the justice sought by injured victims is compensation, which is usually monetary compensation. This is in contrast to the justice sought by district attorneys in criminal law cases, although the same misconduct can often result in both the district attorney filing criminal charges and the victim seeking monetary compensation.
When a victim seeks monetary compensation, he must prove his case in court or must settle it out of court for an amount agreed to by all parties involved. This means the plaintiff must prove the occurrence of the injury, prove the cause of the injury, show the extent of the injury, and show the cost of treatment.
Medical experts can help plaintiffs build their case and gather the necessary evidence to demonstrate the severity of the injuries and the appropriate level of monetary compensation for those injuries. Medical experts may also work for the defendant, helping evaluate whether the plaintiff is honest about the extent or cause of the injury, or whether the plaintiff’s medical bills are reasonable based on the injuries present.
Type of Medical Expert
Medical experts come in many forms, depending on the role they play in a personal injury claim. For example, nurses can assist in understanding medical diagnoses and in explaining the possible consequences and complications of those diagnoses. They can also decipher between conditions and injuries that were pre-existing, and those that occurred as a result of a current claim.
Medical coders understand the complex code systems used by insurance companies and physicians for billing and payment for services. Thus, a medical coder can assist the plaintiff or defendant in overseeing treatment costs. Auditors can review invoices to ensure that they are reasonable; that there is no financial irregularity; and that the services billed for were actually provided.
Finally, the psychiatric care planner has a special role in personal injury cases and must be an accomplished medical professional. Psychiatric care planners estimate the level of ongoing care an injured claimant would need if the claimant was disabled to such an extent as to require years, or even a lifetime of medical assistance. Since the plaintiff is entitled to compensation for all medical expenses arising from injuries caused by the responsible defendant, the plaintiff must be able to claim the full amount of necessary medical expenses for the remainder of his life. A life care planner will be responsible for determining how much continuing care will cost. As a result, the plaintiff is not left high and dry with no ability to provide care later, and the defendant is not stuck paying for lifelong care that is not really needed.
