When you’re dealing with a misdiagnosis, surgical complication, medication error, or delayed treatment, the pressure is immediate: How serious is this? How long will it last? What will it cost? That’s why online tools and chat-based AI estimates are tempting.
For Merriam families, delays can be especially disruptive because care often involves multiple providers—for example, an initial visit at one facility, follow-up imaging elsewhere, and then specialist treatment. If records are split across systems, an AI estimate may not reflect the full timeline.
Instead of treating an AI result as a number you “should” receive, think of it as a prompt: What categories of damages might be at issue, and what documents must back them up?


