When your body is injured, it can affect many aspects of your day-to-day life – whether it be cooking after breaking your wrist or months of physical therapy after breaking your hip.
You begin to wonder: How will you pay for these things? What will your retirement do for you if you’re injured? Did you have these issues before the accident?
There are some things to consider if you are over the age of 65 when you’ve been injured. According to the CDC there were approximately 4.5 million emergency department visits in 2024 from falls by those 65 and older. While not all of these accidents will result in a claim, if you were hurt due to someone else’s negligence, you should look into your options.
Table of Contents
- Identify Who Caused Your Injury
- Document Everything and Get Medical Attention
- If You Already Had Injuries What Can You Do?
- Your Settlement Should Not Only Cover Hospital Bills
- Understand Medicare and Insurance
- Why the First Settlement Offer Needs a Careful Review
- You Have Time Limits Even After 65
- Final Note
Identify Who Caused Your Injury
Just because you got hurt does not mean someone is liable to pay you for your injuries. Typically a personal injury claim will need to show that another person or company was negligent and their negligence caused you harm.
If you slipped and fell on a wet floor at the grocery store there are a few things to ask yourself. How bad was your injury? Did the store know the floor was wet? Did they do anything to prevent customers from falling?
This question will go with any injury that happens on someone else’s property or if you were involved in a car accident. There are always going to be questions as to who was at fault and what happened.
Meshbesher & Spence out of St Cloud, MN discuss these types of scenarios on their website meshbesher.com/practice-areas/st-cloud-personal-injury-lawyer.
You may even want to ask yourself if you did anything wrong. States have different laws that allow for you to be partially at fault for your own injuries and decrease the amount you receive. So make sure to document what happened instead of guessing.
Document Everything and Get Medical Attention
Your health is number one. Sometimes when you are injured you don’t know what’s wrong with you. Get medical attention if needed and listen to the professionals that will be helping you.
Make sure you start documenting everything that happens to you.
Some things that may help in a claim:
- Medical appointments, prescriptions, PT etc.
- Pictures of your injury and where the accident took place
- Witnesses and police/incident reports
- Taxi, Uber, equipment and paid help at home
Write down things you can no longer do due to your injury. If you were injured at a business, report the accident and ask if they have incident reports or security camera footage.
Writing down notes after you leave your appointment can also be helpful.
If you have someone helping you collect information make sure it is still focused on what you have to say.
If You Already Had Injuries What Can You Do?
If you are over the age of 65, chances are you have some type of injury that you have lived with for a long time. Insurance companies will look at your past medical records to see what you may have had before the accident.
Just because you may have had a previous injury doesn’t mean that you can’t get compensation for a new injury.
Try to document what you were able to do before the accident and what you can’t do after. Maybe you were able to walk to the grocery store with a stiff knee but now you require a walker. Or maybe your lower back has always hurt but now it’s preventing you from sleeping and requiring more treatments.
Were you able to climb stairs, go shopping or see your family before your injury?
Use your doctor’s notes, past medical records and describe your life before and after the accident. Make sure to be honest about your prior injuries. You want to show what injuries you have acquired from the accident and if any previous injuries have gotten worse.
Your Settlement Should Not Only Cover Hospital Bills
It’s easy to look at your current hospital bills and want that amount back. But your injury may continue to worsen over time.
You may not have been working if you’re retired so lost wages may not be something to worry about. But what about losing the ability to bathe yourself, cook, drive or visit friends?
There are many factors that can play into a settlement for your injuries. From medical bills, future medical bills and out of pocket expenses. You may be able to receive compensation for your pain and what you can no longer do. This isn’t true for every type of case.
Will you need more PT? Are you unable to drive? Is your spouse taking care of you?
Keep a note of any family that is helping you out as well. Depending on your case you may be able to collect for this time.
Understand Medicare and Insurance
If you have Medicare paying for your bills you should know that you may not receive the full amount of your settlement. Medicare may make conditional payments for accident-related treatment and later seek repayment if a responsible insurer or other primary payer makes a settlement payment.
Before settling, check whether Medicare has a repayment claim and what amount, if any, may need to be repaid. There may be other insurances that can affect your settlement as well.
Always make sure you know what you’re receiving in your settlement. There may be amounts being taken out of your settlement to pay back insurances or attorney’s fees.
Save all correspondence with insurance companies as well. If they ask you to record a statement or sign a medical release, know what you are getting into.
Why the First Settlement Offer Needs a Careful Review
You may want to accept a check as soon as possible to cover your medical bills and get back to your normal life.
Settlement offers can come in early and you may not know how much you’ll recover from your injuries. When you accept a final settlement, you generally give up the right to bring further claims against the other party for the same accident.
If further medical costs are likely, check whether the offer accounts for them before deciding whether to settle. Make sure you know how much is being paid back to insurances and if you are releasing them from your claim.
Always ask for the offer in writing and if you don’t understand it ask them to explain it to you. There may be a time frame listed on your offer that isn’t the statute of limitations to file a claim.
Sometimes settling is the best option for your case but know what you’re getting before you decide.
You Have Time Limits Even After 65
You want to wait until you feel better to file your claim. Just don’t wait until the statute of limitations runs out.
In Minnesota, many negligence-based personal injury lawsuits have a six-year filing limit, but other claims have different deadlines. Medical malpractice claims generally have a four-year filing limit. Some claims against municipalities may require notice within 180 days after the injury or loss is discovered, subject to exceptions. There are many exceptions to these time frames.
So don’t assume you have 6 years to file your case. There are many things to consider when filing your claim and talking to an insurance company does not protect your right to file a lawsuit.
You want to make sure you get information as soon as possible. Cameras get wiped, people move and forget things. So by contacting an attorney you are not settling your case you are just learning what you can do.
Final Note
You shouldn’t have your claim diminished just because you are over the age of 65. Make sure you know what you can do to better your situation and learn more about your claim.