Want to know the most undervalued part of any personal injury case?
It’s not the “visible” injury the insurance adjuster sees in the ER. It’s what’s happening beneath the surface—the long-term health impact that can alter your life forever.
Every year 39.5 million Americans suffer injuries requiring medical treatment and thousands face lifelong health issues.
Here’s the problem:
Insurance companies focus on what they can see. Seasoned personal injury law firms know that serious injuries often take months or years to reveal themselves.
This post reveals the secret process used by top accident attorneys to uncover the full long-term medical impact of your injury.
By the time you finish this article, you’ll know…
- The 5-point Assessment Method that works
- Medical evidence that actually matters
- Common injuries with long-term health impacts
- Why insurance companies hate psychology docs
- The crucial detail your attorney looks for at Step 1
Ready to learn some valuable secrets? Let’s go!
Why Long-Term Health Assessment Is Critical
When you’re in a personal injury claim, there’s one thing that separates good lawyers from great ones…
Their crystal ball.
The best attorneys in McAllen Texas understand that every case is about tomorrow as much as today. More than half of every personal injury case involves the future.
Consider this stunning statistic: only 57% of injury victims say they have fully recovered 12 months after their injury. Nearly HALF still have long-term health problems from their accident.
Most long-term health impacts don’t show up immediately. They develop slowly over weeks, months or years.
Seasoned personal injury law firms realize this and invest the time and money needed to thoroughly assess long-term health.
The 5-Point Assessment Method
Smart personal injury lawyers use a proven 5-point assessment method to uncover long-term health issues. This approach works.
1. Establish Baseline Health
Before an accident attorney can assess long-term health impact, they must understand how you were functioning before the crash. They’re going to dig into your medical history like never before.
Lawyers do this because your insurance company will say your current problems pre-date your accident. Baseline health becomes a critical piece of your case.
2. Document Immediate Impact
Next, accident lawyers document the events immediately following your injury. Emergency room visits, early diagnoses, first symptoms, and initial functional limitations.
3. Track Current Condition
Once lawyers understand your pre-crash life and what happened after, they’ll focus on your current condition.
This is where you receive medical tests that catalog the current state of your injury.
Personal injury law firms will have you undergo in-depth medical exams with physician experts that “get” legal cases.
A forensic medical expert looks for signs of future problems that the average treating physician might not notice.
4. Project Future Health
I told you that your lawyer’s crystal ball was a critical tool. This is why.
The single most valuable component of a personal injury health assessment is a medically-trained expert’s ability to project what your condition will look like 5, 10, or even 20 years in the future.
5. Calculate Total Life Impact
Finally, your personal injury lawyer must factor in the injury’s total impact on your life. Yes, future medical care is important.
But savvy accident attorneys also consider how your injury will impact your ability to work, pursue your favorite hobbies, maintain friendships and family ties, and live a fully independent life in the years ahead.
Medical Evidence That Matters
Not all medical evidence is created equal. Seasoned personal injury law firms know exactly what to look for and which types of evidence have the most weight with juries and insurance companies.
Here are the types of medical documentation that carry the most weight:
- Advanced Imaging: MRIs and CT scans that can pick up on soft tissue damage that might not be visible on regular X-rays.
- Specialist Evaluations: Reports from orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and other specialists who can discuss your long-term prognosis.
- Psychological Assessments: Oftentimes overlooked, 15% of injury victims report developing depression within one month of their accident.
The Hidden Health Impacts
Here’s something most people don’t realize…
The most insidious long-term health impacts are often the ones you can’t see.
Psychological injuries are becoming more and more common in personal injury claims. Depression, anxiety, PTSD can be just as disabling as broken bones or traumatic brain injuries.
In fact, some are even worse because no one can see them.
Smart personal injury law firms are now routinely incorporating psychological evaluations into their health impact assessments. Studies have shown 10% of injury victims still suffer from anxiety symptoms 12 months after their injury.
Things the Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know
Insurance adjusters are experts at downplaying long-term health impacts. They have all kinds of tricks to make your future health problems look less serious than they really are.
Their favorite tactics:
- Pre-existing problems: your past medical history is “suspect” (and therefore must be related to your current issues).
- Temporary problems: these issues are “temporary” and you’ll get better with time.
- Unnecessary treatments: Your recommended course of treatment is too expensive and is not “necessary” for recovery.
- Biased medical opinions: Insurance companies doctors that are in the business of consistently UNDERestimating injuries.
You see, this is why having a personal injury law firm that knows how to properly assess long-term health is so critical.
The Role of Medical Experts
Here’s something that most people don’t know…
The best personal injury lawyers almost never call your treating doctor to testify in court.
Wait. What?
The reason is that treating doctors have one job: to make you better. They’re not trained to provide the kind of detail an accident attorney needs to help you.
Seasoned personal injury law firms instead work with forensic medical experts who regularly testify in court about cases like yours.
Getting the Assessment Right
Want to make sure you get the long-term health impacts of your injury properly evaluated? Here are some tips:
- Start early: don’t wait to get the ball rolling on a proper assessment. Memories fade, and physical evidence can disappear over time.
- Tell your lawyer everything: even the seemingly minor symptom is important. Leave no stone unturned in your discussions with your personal injury law firm.
- Follow-up on treatment: Missing appointments or refusing treatment gives the insurance company ammunition to claim you’re not really hurt.
- Keep a diary: Document how your injury is affecting your day to day life (no detail is too small).
The Real Cost of Long-Term Health Impacts
The numbers are truly staggering. Medical expenses related to injury totaled $448 Billion in 2021. Add in the cost of lost wages and quality of life losses, and the overall economic toll jumps to $1.2 trillion each year.
The difference between a thorough long-term health impact evaluation and a sloppy one can literally be hundreds of thousands of dollars in your eventual settlement.
Common Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Case
The majority of people will make some key mistakes in this area:
- Psychological injuries: mental health issues are by far the most disabling part of an injury case.
- Jumping the gun: Insurance companies love to settle quickly, before long-term impacts are known.
- Trust the wrong doctors: Make sure you have a medical expert who understands legal cases.
- Lack of documentation: Proper record keeping can mean the difference of losing thousands in settlement value.
Bringing It All Together
A long-term health impact evaluation isn’t just about medical assessments. It’s about laying the groundwork to protect your future.
When personal injury law firms do this right, they’re building a legal road map that will protect your health, your finances, and your quality of life for years to come.
You’ll know that your lawyers are the real deal if they tackle each of these 5 key areas:
- Baseline health
- Immediate impact
- Current condition
- Projected future health needs
- Total impact on your life
If your personal injury law firm understands these pieces, they understand the essential building blocks of a successful case. If they don’t, there’s a good chance your legal team doesn’t “get it.”
Your future health matters. Don’t let your legal team treat it as an afterthought.