California Personal Injury Lawyer: What is Maximum Medical Improvement (MIM)?
The main goal for any person involved in an accident is healing from injuries, getting back on their feet, and adapting to their daily lives after dealing with physical and emotional trauma. A personal injury claim is a legal process that allows accident victims to recover compensation for the negligent or reckless acts of another party, and the crucial foundation of this claim is proving injuries and the extensive costs and timelines of medical treatments.
Maximum Medical Improvement (MIM) is a vital stage for the personal injury claim process. Keep reading to learn more about what MMI is, what it could mean for your legal case, and why working with a California personal injury lawyer from BD&J can help you after an accident.
BD&J California personal injury lawyers are here for you after a serious accident.
What is Maximum Medical Improvement?
After an accident in California, such as a car accident, pedestrian accident, motorcycle accident, or similar, a person goes through a period of medical treatment to begin the healing process for their injuries. Medical treatments typically include surgeries, hospital stays, medication administration, physical therapy, cognitive therapy, etc.
Maximum Medical Improvement, most commonly referred to by its acronym, MMI, is the stage in injury recovery where a medical provider deems an injured individual to be at the point where their injuries are as healed as they’re going to be, with no further significant improvements expected.
The injured person may still need medication and other forms of treatment to manage pain and symptoms, but no further treatment can improve the initial injuries or condition.
Does Reaching Maximum Medical Improvement Mean Someone’s Fully Healed from Their Injuries?
No, reaching MMI doesn’t always mean a person has completely healed from their injuries. It can often also mean a person’s condition has reached a peak part of condition stability, and that no other medical intervention will help with healing.
What is a Disability Rating?
A disability rating (also known as impairment rating) is a percentage score out of 100% that medical providers give to show whether a patient has reached recovery of injuries or had a permanent complete or partial loss or suffered impairment.
An impairment rating can be key to determining the severity of an injury, as well as the value of a case when taking into consideration the lifelong prognosis of an injury and care needs. Disability ratings can also provide insight on a patient’s physical activity and earning capacity if they’re able to get back to work.
A 0% rating means a patient has suffered no permanent loss or impairment. Any percentage after this indicates a loss or impairment that affects daily functions.
About 12.1% of California residents are living with some form of disability, so disability after an accident can still provide injured victims with access to special benefits and resources to adapt to a new lifestyle.
Is MMI Only Determined by One Doctor?
Reaching a stage of MMI can often require different medical provider testimonies and documentation on a person’s medical record. For example, while one medical provider may determine if MMI has been reached after a certain treatment, another doctor may recommend another treatment that allows for MMI at another stage.
How Do California Personal Injury Lawyers Work with Maximum Medical Improvement?
MMI is a pivotal moment in a personal injury case because reaching this stage is where personal injury lawyers can now comfortably start working on case value estimates for clients. Learning about:
- Past medical treatment expenses
- Prognosis for further symptom management
- The physical abilities of a client to be able to work or not
- Predicted pain levels and physical limitations
- Need for long-term care
- Emotional and physical impact of injuries
Allows attorneys to work closely with their clients to find the most accurate value for a personal injury case and also advise on initial settlement offers that don’t take a lot of these costs into account.
What is the Value of My Case?
Every case is different, and depending on what MMI looks for you, its value can vary greatly. Common compensation for a personal injury claim may include:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Physical rehabilitation
- In-home care
- Assistive devices
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Property damage
Why Shouldn’t I Accept the First Settlement Offer After an Accident?
Accepting the first settlement offer after an accident is never advised, especially if your case hasn’t been declared MMI. To start with, insurance companies are typically trying to pay out as little as possible for accident claims, and they’ll often try to assign you more liability and often present a smaller compensation offer on the first try.
Second, a lot of these initial compensation offers don’t consider future medical expenses, in-home care needs, or other potential costs related to medical care for injuries in the long run.
Common Examples of Maximum Medical Improvement
Some common examples of MMI include:
- A broken arm that heals with surgery and physical therapy, but is left with stiffness
- A traumatic brain injury that reaches maximum possible healing with therapy and other interventions, but the patient suffers with lifelong memory and concentration issues
- A spinal cord injury treated with physical therapy, injections, and surgery, but the patient is left with mobility problems
- Joint damage that is continuously treated, but the patient suffers a loss of range of motion and chronic pain
How To Take Care of Your Injuries After an Accident
Treating your injuries as soon as possible is necessary in any personal injury claim. Take care of your injuries after an accident with the following steps:
- Follow all treatments recommended by your medical provider. – It’s crucial not to pass over or delay any treatments recommended by your doctor, as doing so can minimize your injuries in a legal claim and also delay the healing process.
- Avoid strenuous activities. – As is typically recommended, you’ll want to avoid any heavy lifting, running, jumping, or other forms of physically taxing movements.
- Promote healthy blood flow with movement. – While you want to avoid rigorous activity, promoting healthy blood flow through light walks, easy stretching, and other low-level activities can help with healing inflammation at injury sites.
- Focus on pain management. – Navigating injury recovery and treatment can be much easier when you’re addressing pain management, whether it’s through the use of medications, injections, or physical therapy.
Injury recovery and pain management can often overwhelm the average person, which is why the additional pressures of navigating a personal injury claim alone through the healing process can offer additional stress. Fortunately, a California personal injury lawyer can help!
Frequently Asked Questions
What if My Physician Says I’ve Reached MMI, But I Feel Like More Treatments Would Help?
It is absolutely ok and common for patients to disagree with a doctor’s MMI decision. You should speak to an attorney as soon as possible so you can file a dispute against the findings and get a second opinion through an Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME).
How Long Does It Take to Reach MMI?
Every injury is different, and the timeline of healing may look extremely different as well. Some minor to moderate injuries can take months to heal, while more severe or catastrophic injuries can take a year or more.
When Should I Present My Personal Injury Claim?
Most personal injury claims must be presented within 2 years of the date of the accident.
What Kind of Treatments Could Still Be Necessary After MMI?
Some treatments that could still be necessary after reaching Maximum Medical Improvement include ongoing physical, occupational, or cognitive therapy, medications, use of assistive medical devices, and other surgical procedures.
What if I Can’t Pay for Further Treatments?
California’s high cost of living and loss of income from injury can instantly add financial strain to your situation. This is where speaking with a personal injury lawyer in California can help, especially when it comes to reviewing your legal options for possible compensation.
Can I Obtain More Compensation After Signing a Settlement Offer?
No, you cannot reopen a settled case for more compensation. This is why it’s extremely important to ensure your compensation amount covers all current and future expenses related to your injuries before settling.
Can an Attorney Review Insurance Paperwork I’m Being Asked to Sign?
Absolutely! Personal injury attorneys can review your insurance paperwork with you and advise you on the next steps to take in your claim.
Why Do Insurance Companies Lowball Compensation Offers?
Insurance companies will often lowball compensation offers to maintain a higher profit margin, using past cases as a reference and overlooking the unique factors of a claim, and often failing to consider the full value of non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
What if I Was Partially at Fault for My Accident?
You can absolutely still receive compensation. California is a comparative negligence state, which means that a person who had some fault in their accident can still obtain compensation through a personal injury claim.
Your settlement amount is simply reduced by the percentage of fault you’re assigned in a case. For example, if you recover $100,000 in a claim but are found to be 40% at fault, you’d recover $60,000.
Can BD&J Attorneys Help Me After an Accident?
Definitely. BD&J is the California law firm dedicated to fighting for clients and their loved ones after an unforeseen accident.
We’ve fought for victims of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, construction accidents, and more. With more than $3 billion* recovered in compensation for clients, you don’t have to worry about your case being in the right hands.
How Much Do I Have to Pay Upfront to Work with BD&J Attorneys?
Nothing at all. Our California personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means all case costs are advanced to clients to get their claim going. The final attorney fees are deducted from your compensation amount after a case is settled.
This means no financial stress for you, and no fees until we win* your case.
BD&J Personal Injury Lawyers in California Put Clients’ Best Interests First
Maximum Medical Improvement is essential to help assign a value to a personal injury claim, which is why it’s important to seek medical attention for your injuries after an accident, follow medical treatment, and speak with a California personal injury lawyer.
BD&J is the law firm you can trust to handle your claim with attention, care, and legal expertise in the face of lowball insurance offers and other attorneys. Our attorneys are committed to client well-being, and keep you informed throughout every step of your case.
Call BD&J at 888-648-8102 or complete our online form to connect with an attorney!