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Medical Expenses Suit


Medical Expenses Defined:

A medical expense is defined as any cost related to the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, convalescence and all expenses tied to treatment for any part or function of the body. These expenses are associated with supplies, counseling, equipment and therapy to improve, relieve or cure mental and physical discomfort from a personal injury or infection. 

Examples of medical costs or expenses include the following:

• Artificial teeth

• Artificial limbs

• Books and magazines or any supply used by a visually-impaired individual

• Cosmetic surgery, only if deemed necessary to improve a condition or deformity related to an accident, disease or congenital abnormality

• All expenses related to doctor or physician visits

• Exercise or training programs if a medical professional recommends the program as necessary treatment for a specific condition

• Additional rent or utility payments for a larger residence required in order to provide space for medical help, such as nurses or attendants

• Eye surgery when it is not administered for cosmetic purposes

• Guide dogs or any other animal utilized by hearing impaired, visually impaired or otherwise physically disabled individual

• All costs associated with hospital care

• Insurance premiums for medical care 

• Residence or household help for nursing care services

• Court, legal and all fees associated with a suit to authorize treatment for mental illnesses

• Lifetime care advance payments

• Costs associated with nursing care

• Costs associated with prescription drugs and medicines

• Medical aids, including hearing aids, wheelchairs, eyeglasses, crutches, guide dogs, contact lenses etc.

• Nursing home expenses, including the cost of medical care, meals and lodging if the primary reason for staying home is to obtain medical care

• Costs associated with diagnostic/imaging tests, including all x-ray services

• Transportation costs needed to obtain medical care

• Transplant surgeries

• Reclining chairs or any tools purchased from doctor’s advice by an individual with a diagnosed cardiac condition

All medical expenses associated with personal injury case, in general, cost victims tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, medical expenses must be regarded as a primary factor in determining the net worth of your lawsuit.

What is a Medical Expenses Suit?

A medical expenses suit is a subsection of a personal injury claim that attempts to secure compensation for all costs associated with convalescence. A medical expenses suit, therefore, seeks compensation for all of the patient’s costs that were deemed necessary to diagnose, mitigate or cure the injury or disease. Medical expenses suits are filed by patients who suffered an injury or contracted a disease because of an employer or entity’s negligence. The disease or injury would not have occurred if the entity or employer did not put the patient at risk. Therefore, the medical expense suit is filed to compensate injured workers or individuals who sustained an injury or contracted a disease because of an entity’s reckless or negligent behavior. 

What are the Common Mesothelioma Medical Expenses?

Mesothelioma cancer is a rare disease that is highly invasive and deadly. The cancer develops from the transformation of cells in the mesothelium, which is the two-layered membrane that lines the lungs and other vital organs in the body. Mesothelioma treatment options, due to delays in diagnosis, are typically palliative in nature. Complications regarding diagnosis stem from the cancer’s slow-developing symptoms and innocuous cellular structure—a patient will not feel sick or notice symptoms until 25-50 years after their initial exposure to asbestos. 

Mesothelioma cancer derives from asbestos exposure. When left alone, asbestos does not pose a risk to human beings; however, when disturbed, the mineral propels cancerous filaments into the air. When these carcinogens are inhaled they stick to the mesothelium and other protective tissues in the lungs and abdomen. Over time, the cancerous dust eats at way at these shields perpetuating the formation of tumors. These cancerous cells then proliferate into other areas of the body. It is only at this time, that symptoms become tangible. Unfortunately, when mesothelioma cancer is finally detected it is too late—the cancer in its advanced stages is deemed inoperable. 

Mesothelioma treatment methods typically include surgery to extract the tumor (this mesothelioma treatment option is only undertaken during its first stage), and chemotherapy and/or radiation to mitigate the attached symptoms. Palliative treatment options are primarily suggested because the latency period for the cancer is exceptionally long. 

Medical expenses attached to mesothelioma cancer are quite high, because of the cancer’s tendency to proliferate and destroy the body’s vital organs. That being said, the type of mesothelioma treatment applied is elastic to the size of the tumor, the age of the patient and the level of proliferation.Medical expenses associated with mesothelioma cancer are often high. Furthermore, when a mesothelioma patient starts noticing symptoms and a diagnosis is made, he or she is typically advanced in age and/or retired. The advanced age of a median mesothelioma patient is because of the cancer’s lengthy latency period. It is necessary to understand the medical expenses attached to mesothelioma treatment because it will help you file the appropriate claim against your employer or the entity that is responsible for your asbestos exposure.

Common medical costs of mesothelioma cancer include: 

• Costs associated with diagnostic imaging tests including: MRI’s, chest x-rays, PET’s and CT Scans. These imaging tests are undertaken to detect the cancer

• The cost of long-term medical care

• Cost of clinical trials

• Costs associated with aggressive mesothelioma treatments, including: radiation therapy, chemotherapy, mesothelioma surgery and biopsies

Factors that will affect my Mesothelioma Medical Expenses:

Mesothelioma medical expenses will vary from patient to patient. There are several factors which affect mesothelioma medical expenses, including the patient’s age, their side effects and the characteristics of their medical cancer, including the disease’s proliferation and its origin point in the body. 

To file a mesothelioma cancer medical expenses suit you must contact a mesothelioma lawyer. These legal professionals will expedite the filing by investigating your employer’s actions and more specifically their adherence to your jurisdiction’s asbestos laws. Failure to adhere to asbestos regulations places liability on the employer if one of their employee’s developed an asbestos-related disease. 

Mesothelioma lawyers are able to expedite said filings through an understanding of the legal process and acknowledgement of your jurisdiction’s particular asbestos laws. To file a claim you must first be diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer or another asbestos-related disease by a licensed medical professional. You will not be reimbursed for your mesothelioma medical expenses if you are not formally diagnosed with the disease. 

After receiving diagnosis you must consult with a mesothelioma lawyer to discuss your case. During the consultation you will go over your employment history and detail how and why you were exposed to asbestos. The lawyer will ask questions concerning your workplace’s protocol and whether or not your employer followed certain asbestos regulations. If it is discovered that your employer was negligent regarding your asbestos exposure, he/she will formally file a suit to recoup all of your mesothelioma medical expenses. To remove uncertainty and avoid court fees, the bulk of mesothelioma claims are settled out of court. In these situations, a settlement is affirmed following the discovery portion of the claim and after negotiations takes place between your mesothelioma lawyer and your employer. 

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