Maximum medical improvement (MMI) is a term used to establish when an injured person has recovered from their injuries to the fullest extent they will be able to, based on a doctor's determination. It is most often applied to workers' compensation claims, but is also relevant to other personal injury claims.

What MMI means for you depends on your injuries and life circumstances. In many cases, and in the best possible scenario, it means that you can return to normal health and functionality. Broken bones or some soft tissue injuries can generally heal without any permanent effects, depending on the age of the person injured. Other injuries, such as a brain injury that causes memory problems or a disc injury that causes occasional back pain, will occasionally limit or distress the injury party. Still others, such as a loss of limb or an injury that causes paralysis, will affect you for every moment of the rest of your life. MMI means that you have stabilized and healed to the extent that you will not improve anymore.

Maximum Medical Improvement in Workers' Compensation Claims

Missouri Revised Statute §287.020 defines "maximum medical improvement" as:

the point at which the injured employee's medical condition has stabilized and can no longer reasonably improve with additional medical care, as determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty

Under Missouri Workers' Compensation laws, employers must provide workers who were injured on the job with paid medical care, and temporary total or partial disability benefits. However, Missouri Revised Statute §287.149 stipulates that those benefits must only be paid up until the point that the employee reaches MMI. After that, if the injured worker cannot return to work, they move to permanent disability benefits and no longer receive medical care paid for by their employers.

Typically, in Missouri workers' compensation claims, the employer is allowed to choose the physician who examines you. However, because establishing MMI is so important, Missouri Revised Statute §287.390 allows claimants a 12-month period to get a second opinion from a doctor of their choosing.

Maximum Medical Improvement in Other Personal Injury Claims

While MMI is not a technical term in other personal injury claims, the concept is still relevant in two ways:

1. If a full recovery is likely, most personal injury attorneys will wait to send a settlement demand letter until you have received the full medical treatment you need. Doing so ensures you will not have any surprise medical bills down the road that should have been included in your settlement.
2. If you reach MMI and are still disabled, your attorney will need to calculate your future medical expenses and lost earning capacity in order to get you the full compensation you deserve.