Unlocking Savings in Personal Injury Cases with Domestic Medical Tourism: A Path to Retaining Higher Settlement Value for Injured Clients

Save your client's settlement funds through price and value arbitrage through domestic medical travel and redirection

In personal injury cases, one of the biggest obstacles to retaining higher settlement value is the high cost of medical care. For plaintiffs, these expenses can be a major factor in negotiations, as medical bills can quickly consume a significant portion of settlements. Both insurers and plaintiffs' attorneys are increasingly seeking ways to save costs while ensuring injured clients receive top-quality care. Domestic medical tourism has emerged as a powerful tool for controlling these costs, enabling injured parties to receive necessary care without sacrificing their settlement value. That is, if you know how to use it to your client's advantage.

When combined with the innovative approach of the St. George Accident Clinic (SGAC), injured clients and their legal teams can protect more of the settlement, allowing for a fairer distribution of funds. Here’s how SGAC and domestic medical tourism together offer a unique advantage for personal injury cases.

The St. George Accident Clinic Advantage

Located in St. George, Utah, SGAC has earned a reputation for its transparency, reliability, and bundled pricing model, providing injured parties with high-quality care without the hidden costs or surprises often associated with medical billing. The clinic is led by a board-certified, Mayo fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with more than 25 years of experience. This highly regarded medical director is not only a leader in his field but also frequently sought out for second opinions and independent medical exams (IMEs) in federal workers' compensation cases. His expertise in orthopedics is unparalleled, and he is certified to operate every approved joint replacement robotic and computer navigation system currently in use in the U.S. He is also an expert witness when determining causality in seemingly unrelated situations.

In addition to his orthopedic credentials, the surgeon is a USAF veteran flight surgeon, who retired as a Major and carries the unimpeachable integrity, discipline and precision of military officer into his practice. His unique qualifications and extensive experience make SGAC the top choice for personal injury clients seeking specialized care for complex cases.

In addition to its bundled, transparent pricing, SGAC offers a unique support structure to enhance communication and case management with legal counsel:

• ??A dedicated paralegal works alongside medical staff to ensure seamless communication between the clinic and the client’s attorney. This means that legal teams are always in the loop, allowing for a higher level of coordination and fewer administrative hurdles. Our paralegal anticipates your needs rather than waiting for you to ask for something.
• ????A trained nurse case manager oversees the injured client’s care, ensuring that every service—from surgery to ancillary services like physical therapy and hotel-based nursing care —is coordinated and delivered at the lowest possible cost without sacrificing quality.
• ??Fact-based, written cost estimates for the entire episode of care so that you can propose settlement quickly and confidently to adjustors and achieve quicker settlements. That way, you won't have to engage lien purchase firms that inflate their portion straight out of your client's settlement and reduce money available for necessary care.
• ??An expert medical travel coordinator who pieces together local hometown care, destination care and aftercare back home to create a seamless continuity of care for an excellent medical travel or patient redirection experience. SGAC works in collaboration with Angel Flights, a non-profit volunteer pilot association to arrange travel within a 900 nautical mile radius at no cost to the patient and companion, wherever necessary. SGAC's medical travel coordinator also serves as patient liaison while the patient is in St George, responding to requests for assistance at the hotel, coordinating local services and ground transfers.

Domestic Medical Tourism: The Smart Choice for Personal Injury Care

"Unlike international medical tourism, domestic options come with significant advantages that make the process smoother and more reliable and even less costly than international options."

Domestic medical tourism—traveling within the U.S. to access more affordable or specialized medical care—offers a range of benefits, particularly for personal injury cases. Unlike international medical tourism, domestic options come with significant advantages that make the process smoother and more reliable.

First and foremost, when care is obtained within the U.S., malpractice coverage is included, and medical records are maintained in English. That's NEVER a given with international options. Each state’s medical records laws are well-established, offering clear protections and ensuring compliance with legal and privacy standards. This eliminates many of the uncertainties that can arise with international care, where malpractice laws, language barriers, and medical record maintenance may vary significantly.

In some gray market destinations, they don't even create a medical record. And if they do, the patient is not "entitled" to a copy. Second, they don't use standard medical claim forms in dollars, with CPT codes, that can be submitted to US insurers.

Moreover, domestic medical tourism eliminates the need for dealing with passport, visa, or immigration issues. Travel is often less expensive and much more accessible—whether by air or car—allowing clients to focus on recovery rather than complex travel logistics and language fluency concerns. Domestic surgical destinations, such as SGAC, offer bundled, transparent pricing that includes surgical care, follow-up visits, and rehabilitation, without the hidden costs that can derail a personal injury settlement and send costs into the stratosphere for no reason.

St. George, Utah: A Destination That Heals and Inspires

St. George, Utah isn’t just a center for exceptional medical care—it’s also a beautiful destination that many patients choose to explore as part of their recovery journey. Known for its stunning red rock formations, ancient petroglyphs, and proximity to iconic landmarks like Zion National Park, St. George offers a serene and awe-inspiring environment that patients find rejuvenating. The climate is ideal, with mild winters and the altitude makes it an excellent choice for injured clients with cardiovascular comorbidities or those recovering from joint replacement surgery where the risk of pulmonary embolism increases by 40% in the first 30 days at altitudes above 400' ASL.

In fact, many patients who choose SGAC tend to extend their stay in St. George to take advantage of the incredible sightseeing opportunities once they feel up to it. From driving through scenic Snow Canyon to exploring the historic district and restaurants of St. George, the area provides ample opportunities for rest, relaxation, and light adventure.

To make the recovery experience even smoother, SGAC has arranged for discounted hotel rates at carefully inspected hospitality outlets, ensuring that both patients and their companions can recover in comfort. SGAC even arranged for sleeping recliners to be placed in patient recovery rooms, for those undergoing shoulder surgeries. In many cases, patients and their companions can even be flown to St. George at no cost, making this an accessible option for those who want to experience both world-class medical care and the breathtaking beauty of Southern Utah. The area is also serviced by Delta, United and American Airlines through the local airport.

Reducing Waste and Maximizing Value

One of SGAC’s greatest strengths is its ability to reduce administrative waste and eliminate unnecessary costs often associated with traditional personal injury cases. The clinic's model eliminates the high costs of collecting payments, billing, and waiting for settlements, enabling a more streamlined process. By cutting out costly and valueless inefficiencies, SGAC ensures that injured clients receive their care at a fraction of the cost typically seen in personal injury cases involving lien purchase companies. We don't bump up costs artificially the way most of the lien settlement companies operate. Additionally, SGAC's model avoids "runaway" medical services from certain lien purchase firm specialists that unnecessarily inflate costs or churn visits that rapidly exhaust PIP (Personal Injury Protection), a common issue in traditional models of personal injury care. We understand that game and we don't believe it's the right thing for the patient.

SGAC distinguishes itself by working with only select lien purchase companies. We don't play games. We don't tolerate delays. We don't inflate bills on request to leave the lien purchase with the bulk of the settlement for taking a little risk.

And while most local practices avoid personal injury cases after PIP exhaustion altogether, SGAC welcomes these cases because it knows how to manage them for win-win outcomes. SGAC prefers to handle payment faster and more directly through the patients' representative counsel.

This approach benefits all parties involved: it leaves more cash in the settlement for both the attorney and the accident victim, while paying providers fairly and promptly, avoiding the years-long wait and bill reduction risks typically associated with lien settlements.

The Future of Personal Injury Care: The SGAC Way

The model pioneered by St. George Accident Clinic is truly the way forward for personal injury care. Their approach prioritizes transparency, reduces administrative costs, and ensures faster payment to providers, leaving more money on the table for both the attorney and the injured client. In fact, 96.3% of accident injury cases can be managed under this model, eliminating the need for protracted settlement timelines typically tied to lien settlements.

The remaining 3.7% of cases that cannot be managed this way typically involve catastrophic injuries that require extended, complex care. These cases often involve patients with severe injuries requiring prolonged stays in the ICU, multiple staged surgeries, or ongoing treatments that may span over a year. Such cases also come with high medical costs that are beyond the scope of bundled care and involve long-term, multidisciplinary treatment plans. For these extreme cases, a traditional approach to handling medical expenses and settlements may still be necessary due to the complexity and duration of care required. Those cases are usually inappropriate for medical travel and should be managed locally unless the required medical expertise is unavailable.

In a landscape where rising medical costs threaten to diminish personal injury settlements, the SGAC model—combined with domestic medical tourism—provides a sustainable, value-driven alternative. It’s a path that leaves injured clients with more cash in hand, attorneys with stronger cases, and providers paid promptly and fairly.

The personal injury care sector is evolving, and the SGAC way, supported by domestic medical tourism, is leading the charge. By embracing these innovative approaches, personal injury attorneys can not only deliver better outcomes for their clients but also retain higher settlement value, ensuring fair compensation for all.

??To learn more, and arrange care for your personal injury clients, call our Director of Business Development at 800-727-4160, today. Better yet, come to St George and see for yourself! Visitors are always welcome!