Paying Medical Bills After Injury from Car Accident

You have been involved in a car accident and now you have an injury from a car accident.  You have to go to hospital and seek medical treatment, but you‘re not sure how you’re going to pay for it or who is responsible for paying for it.  Is it your health insurance?  Is it the health insurance of the person responsible for the accident and the injury from car accident?  Is it the responsible party’s automobile insurance that should pay upfront for your bills, or do they reimburse you for medical treatment that you receive and pay for yourself upfront?

These are all valid and important questions that many people have when they are involved in a not-at-fault accident and suffer injuries.  The truth is, it can be very confusing, and most insurance companies are not at all straight forward about the process.  To make things worse, the hospitals you typically seek treatment from don’t really know either.  All they know is that they have a bill and they need you to pay it.

The first thing to understand about the payment process when it comes to auto liability insurance is that this kind of insurance doesn’t work like your health insurance.  Auto insurance companies do not typically pay for your medical treatment bills as you incur them.  Instead, you are expected to receive the treatment, and use your own Personal injury protection to pay for it. After you have received the treatment, in its entirety, you can ask for a reimbursement from the auto insurance company as a single lump sum payment.  This is considered a settlement, and could possibly be more or less than your actual costs for medical treatment based on the severity of your injuries and the outcome.

The second thing to understand is that there are several ways for you to ensure that your medical bills get paid.  To start with, if you have any health insurance, use it.  Even if not all of your treatments are covered by your insurance, your medical bill will be way less than what it would be if you had no health insurance, and you can always seek reimbursement from the responsible party after you have received the treatment.  The other way that you can ensure that your medical bills are paid for an injury from car accident is with a letter of protection.

Letters of protection are very, very unique.  You will definitely, without question require the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney when putting together a letter of protection.  In essence, what a letter of protection is, is a simple agreement between you and the doctor’s office or hospital that is prepared by your lawyer.  What this agreement states is that you will promise to pay any medical costs related to your injury from the settlement proceeds that you will receive either during the course of your insurance claim with the responsible party’s insurance company, or after a trial has been completed and damages have rewarded.

Knowing what to do about your medical bills is certainly a stressful situation.  Do yourself a big favor and seek the kind of legal help that will provide you guidance and support during a difficult time.