When you end up hurt by a careless driver, you may be entitled to be paid what are known as damages. One of the most important forms of damage is your medical expenses. That might come as a surprise to some accident victims who just assume that the other driver's insurance policy will cover their medical needs. While this might be true, there are other variables and factors that are greatly affected by your medical costs. To help you understand why medical expenses are so important to your complete accident claim, read on.

What Are Medical Expenses?

As long as the expense is related to your accident injuries, it must be covered. Some accident victims encounter denials on some of their medical needs or experience delays in payment. This, unfortunately, can result in medical collections and damage to your credit. The following is just a partial list of what to expect the at-fault driver to pay as a result of the accident:

• Transportation to the hospital and to a rehabilitative facility (if necessary).
• All hospital and physician costs.
• All medications, physical therapy services, and durable medical goods (walkers, braces, etc).
• All future medical needs if the injuries are serious.

The Part Your Medical Costs Play

If you encounter problems with the insurance carrier, if your injuries are serious, or if the total cost of your medical care is a substantial amount, you should speak to a personal injury lawyer. Instead of settling for payment of your medical costs, you might also be entitled to be paid for another category of damages – pain and suffering. You won't be paid for this damage unless you take legal action against the other driver's insurer. Pain and suffering go along with bad accident injuries and it attempts to pay victims for the overall negative way the accident and injuries have affected a victim.

The amount a victim is paid for their pain and suffering goes back to their medical expenses. In most cases, the more your medical expenses, the more your pain and suffering. The insurance companies use several ways of calculating pain and suffering, so speak to your personal injury lawyer about what to expect in your case. The cost of your medical care is used to determine how much you get for pain and suffering even if the insurer has paid your expenses in full. It is used as a factor and an indicator of the seriousness of your injuries.

Speak to a personal injury lawyer, like those at The Lombardo Law Firm, and you will find that your medical expenses are of prime importance in your case.