Future medicals
The cost of the care you will still need after the case is over.
A settlement is final. Whatever future care is not accounted for in it is care you will pay for yourself. This is general information, not legal advice.
What it means
Future medical expenses are recoverable where they are reasonably certain to be needed. They are proved by medical opinion about what treatment lies ahead, and by evidence of what that treatment costs.
This is where settling early does the most damage. If the medical picture has not settled, nobody — including your own doctors — can say what the next ten years look like, and an offer made in that fog is a guess weighted against you.
For a serious injury the future-care figure is often larger than everything already spent.
Where this is dealt with properly
This entry is the short answer. These pages own the subject.
Common questions
- Can I reopen a settlement if I need more surgery later?
- Effectively no. A release ends the claim, which is exactly why future care has to be understood before anything is signed.
Start a case review call
On a case review call, I go through the facts with you: what happened, when, whether you were hurt, whether anyone represents you, and how to reach you. It is not legal advice, and I will not put a value on your claim.
Sources: CACI No. 3903A, Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition) (medical expenses, past and future); Pebley v. Santa Clara Organics, LLC (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 1266 (a plaintiff who treats outside insurance and the reasonable value of care). CACI references after the first use the short form.