While some people focus on what types of benefits they can receive from their insurance company, they don’t think about what duties they have to the insurer. One thing that they should realize is that they have a duty to mitigate the damages.
Insurers can investigate cases to determine if this happens. For example, a person who refuses to get medical care for an injury may be determined not to have mitigated the damages.
Mitigating damages doesn’t mean that the person has to do everything that’s recommended to them. Instead, it means that they have to balance out the risks and benefits of treatment options the doctors present to them.
The bar that’s set for mitigating the damages after an accident is that the person has to do what’s reasonable to prevent further loss. If they don’t do what’s considered reasonable, they might not be able to recover damages for the impacts of not mitigating the damages.
One area that’s rather difficult to deal with in these cases is surgical procedures. Some injuries will need surgery to heal as well as possible. The person has to look at the benefits of this and weight them against the potential risks of the procedure.
If they opt not to have surgery, they wouldn’t be able to recover damages that stem from that refusal. Typically, common surgeries with a low risk of harm and a good record of being successful are considered reasonable.
Insurers sometimes have to fight claims involving a failure to mitigate damages. This can mean lengthy court cases, so having knowledgeable representation to ensure their rights are protected is beneficial.
