An attorney never knows the value of any auto related injury case in the beginning. There are far too many factors that influence the case value to make a prediction early in the process. In general, there is often some relationship to incurred medical related bills and the pain and suffering value. For example, if you have $5,000 in medical related bills, you probably will get much less for pain and suffering than someone who has $200,000 in medical related bills. In addition, if a doctor says that you are expected to require future medical care that would factor into the equation too.

However, in some cases, medical related bills have no impact whatsoever on the value of your pain and suffering. It depends on the case specifics. For example, if someone lost their eyesight from a facial injury, there is very little treatment. However, that case would have a much higher value than someone who received no treatment for, let’s say, a neck injury.  Moreover, if the fault for the accident is unclear or questionable, then pain and suffering may be reduced accordingly.  Lastly, if the insurance coverage is lower, the case value may be lower.

The unpleasant news is that most medical providers and health insurance companies must be re-paid out of your final settlement. However, we aggressively negotiate those bills with the medical providers, after the cases have settled with the insurance company.