When you are injured in a car or truck accident, from a defective product, or as a pedestrian, you will likely spend a significant amount of time recovering from your injuries. There’s a good chance you will see multiple doctors and may require physical therapy and treatment from specialists, as well.
The goal of all these providers is to treat your injuries and help you recover to regain cognitive or physical function and alleviate any lingering pain from the accident. All these treatments and doctors will work to help you completely recover from your accident so you feel 100% again and so you can go back to enjoying your normal, pre-accident life.
Unfortunately, some accident victims will never fully recover from the injuries they experience. This may occur with any accident-caused injury. This is especially the case if severe injuries are involved.
Ongoing cognitive impairments, loss of function, and chronic pain can impact your life forever, regardless of the treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation you receive.
Because of this, there will come a time in your treatment where health care providers will decide if you won’t see any additional improvements in your condition, even with continued treatment. When you reach this point, the official term is Maximum Medical Improvement or MMI.
Reaching the point of MMI is not an indication that you are recovered and are back to the same state of health you were before your accident. Instead, it means you are at a stable point, but no further improvement is likely to be had. It also doesn’t mean that you will never need treatment again. You may have to continue treatment to maintain the improvements you have achieved since your accident and injuries occurred.
When Will You Reach MMI After an Accident?
The amount of time it takes to achieve MMI varies based on several factors. These factors include:
- Severity of the injuries you sustained
- Types of injuries sustained
- Quality, extent, and nature of the treatment you receive
- Response of your body to the treatment
- Presence of pre-existing conditions
- Compliance with therapists’ and doctor’s orders and recommendations about treatment and care
- Possibility of secondary complications or conditions developing
All the factors listed above can impact how long it takes you to reach a state of Maximum Medical Improvement.
Who Determines When MMI Is Reached?
Your health care providers and doctors will determine when you reach Maximum Medical Improvement. After all, the doctors who are treating you are in the best position to figure out if additional treatment will lead to more improvements in your condition. At some point, your doctor may recommend additional therapy, surgery, or another treatment that will help improve your condition further.
For some cases, it’s unknown if more treatment will improve your condition. However, if a treating doctor believes that with the reasonable treatment, you will see more improvements, then the determination of your MMI may be delayed until the suggested treatment is provided and the outcome of that treatment is known.
Why Does MMI Matter in Personal Injury Claims?
If you are filing a personal injury claim because of the injuries you sustained in an accident, MMI is often important. It helps determine when the right time to file a claim is. It can also be used to help determine the value of your claim.
In some situations, it may be best to wait until you have reached MMI to file your claim or negotiate your settlement. While this is true, there are also deadlines that you must meet to file a personal injury claim, which means it may be necessary to begin the process before MMI is reached.
Additionally, expected outcomes and future treatment options are often understood before you reach MMI, which means your injury lawyer can negotiate a fair settlement based on this information even if you haven’t reached MMI.
While this is true, you should never take a settlement offer from an insurance company until you talk to our injury lawyer. This is true no matter if you have reached MMI for your injuries or not. Your attorney will review the information and let you know when you should file a claim and seek a settlement.
Contact Our Legal Team Today for Help and Information
One of the best things you can do after suffering an injury in an accident is to contact our legal team at Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers. We can review your accident and help you recover the compensation you deserve.
Our injury lawyer can help you better understand Maximum Medical Improvement and how it will impact your personal injury case. Don’t wait to reach out. The longer you take to contact our legal team, the less time we have to gather evidence and prepare your case.