Past medical expenses cover treatment already rendered, established through billing records and provider testimony. Recovery requires that the charges be both reasonable in amount and necessary for the injury.
Whether billed or paid amounts are recoverable varies.
Alternative Names:
Incurred Medical Expenses, Past Medicals
Why it Matters?
Reasonableness and necessity are separate requirements, and defense effort concentrates on causation while frequently leaving reasonableness unexamined. Comparing charges against regional benchmarks and against what the provider accepts from insurers addresses that gap. Treatment financed by letter of protection warrants particular scrutiny, since those charges are frequently set well above the provider's ordinary rates.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What are the two requirements?
Which requirement is underexamined?
