What Happens to Pending Medical Bills During a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Whether your injury accident was a life-threatening incident or one that left you with a few minor bumps and bruises, medical care is a significant part of the recovery process. The treatments may last a few days or continue for many months, but one thing each of those events have in common is the stack of bills that continue to grow as your body heals. As the injured party, you shouldn’t have to shoulder the responsibility to pay for thousands of dollars of bills, but that begs the question about who will pay all those pending medical bills.
Insurance
Although it is not the best solution to the medical bill conundrum, you can sometimes opt to pay for the medical expenses using your health insurance or personal auto insurance. The caveat here is that you will still be responsible for your co-pay and deductible amounts. This can become costly very quickly as you seek treatment with
- Doctors
- Surgical Teams
- Medical Imagery Technicians
- Physical Therapists
Most of the time, the insurance companies will then ask to be reimbursed when you receive your settlement, which suggests you will lose even more money.
Responsibility
In most jurisdictions, the person responsible for the injury accident will be the one that pays for your medical bills. Some areas divide fault for the accident and assign financial responsibility based on that fault. Still, even in those states, the responsibility for paying the majority of personal injury medical bills rests upon the shoulders of the one that caused the accident. That means while you are treating, your settlement is pending, or as you wait for your case to go to trial, the bills continue to grow – but you don’t pay them.
Liens
When choosing non-payment, the medical providers can choose to ask for a medical lien to cover all costs during the pending case. The lien is like a loan without added interest that allows you to continue with necessary treatment but also ensures the providers get paid once a settlement is reached.
Settlement
Paying your medical providers is only a small part of the whole settlement package. Your personal injury lawyer will work to make sure the payment covers all the growing bills, but your attorney also understands your need for just compensation that includes your pain, suffering, and loss of work. That is why it is important to contact a lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer from The Lawfirm of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C., if you are ever hurt in a personal injury accident.