Car Accidents
What to Do If My Medical Bills Are More than My Settlement
When discovering that your medical bills exceed your personal injury settlement, you must know what to do to avoid financial ruin. Learn today.
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What Options Can I Take If My Medical Expenses Exceed My Settlement?
If you receive a car accident settlement from the insurance company and discover that the injury settlement will be unable to cover your medical expenses fully, there are numerous routes you can take that don't involve paying out of pocket you can use to cover your medical bills.
Negotiate for Lower Medical Expenses
One of the first steps to lowering your medical expenses is to negotiate with your healthcare providers. Medical providers often include unnecessary costs in medical bills, which makes negotiating for lower expenses relatively easy.
A few negotiation strategies you can use to obtain lower medical bills are:
- Request an Itemized Bill: Request an itemized medical bill, as this will allow you to review each charge and identify errors or unnecessary costs.
- Set Up a Payment Plan: Your healthcare provider may offer an interest-free payment plan that will allow you to pay the medical bill over a set amount of time.
- Ask for Discounts: Explain in-depth your financial situation and how the car accident settlement cannot cover your medical bills fully and that you would like a discount.
When negotiating with your healthcare provider, it's recommended that you hire a personal injury lawyer to handle all communications.
Utilize Health Insurance
If you have health insurance, review your coverage and check what medical expenses it covers and how much it covers.
It's essential that if you use your health insurance to pay for your medical expenses, you properly submit detailed information on every expense you wish to cover.
Additionally, in the event that you feel that the insurance company is not providing you with fair coverage, contact an experienced attorney.
MedPay Coverage
In a car accident case, you should check if you have Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage as part of your auto insurance policy. MedPay can help cover medical bills regardless of who was at fault in the auto accident.
Consider Legal Options
If your car accident settlement amount does not fully cover your medical expenses and you lack the insurance coverage to pay them or your medical provider refuses to cooperate with you, you can pursue a discount or additional compensation by consulting with a personal injury lawyer.
Ways a personal injury attorney can help cover medical bills are:
- Appealing the Settlement: If your attorney believes that the auto accident settlement was unfair, they may file an appeal in hopes of obtaining a larger injury settlement.
- Suing for Additional Damages: In a car accident with multiple parties, your car accident lawyer may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the other parties to obtain additional damages.
Contact a Las Vegas car accident lawyer to learn about the legal options available to you by calling (702) 566-3600 for a free consultation.
Do Medical Expenses Come Out of My Settlement?
Yes, medical bills come out of your car accident or any other personal injury settlement.
This is because medical bills are one of the numerous costs that are meant to be covered by a personal injury claim.
How Are Medical Expenses Covered by a Personal Injury Settlement
Repayment to the medical provider often works with your car accident attorney, distributing your settlement to pay any medical liens or health insurance costs.
If you paid any medical expense out-of-pocket, you may also use your settlement to reimburse yourself for those costs.
How Do You Negotiate for Lower Medical Bills?
If you are looking to negotiate for lower medical bills, you must negotiate effectively. The recommended path to take when negotiating with your healthcare provider is to hire a personal injury attorney, but if you wish to negotiate with your provider alone, you must do the following:
- Obtain an Itemized Bill: An itemized bill lists each charge in detail, and by obtaining an itemized bill, you can identify any errors, duplicate charges, or services you didn't receive or are unrelated to your injuries. By pointing out unrelated costs, you can increase your chances of lowering the bill and removing the financial burden.
- Research the Cost of Your Injuries: Do in-depth research into the cost of covering your injuries. Utilize websites such as the Healthcare Bluebook and Fair Health to estimate your treatment's cost.
- Communicate Early: The moment you realize that your injury settlement doesn't cover your medical bills is the moment you should contact your medical provider or your attorney to lower the medical costs in order to avoid financial burden.
- Offer a Lump Sum Payment: If you have the financial ability, you may be able to pay a portion of the bill in a lump sum, which means that you pay the bill in one go, and the healthcare provider accepts a reduced amount.
- Stay Persistent: Negotiating your medical bill down can be a lengthy process, but it's vital that you stay persistent.
What Happens If Medical Bills Are Not Paid
Following a car accident, if you don't pay your medical bill, there can be serious legal and financial consequences.
Late Fees and Interest Charges
If you don't pay your medical bill, your healthcare provider may charge you late fees and add interest to the unpaid bill.
These additional costs can significantly increase the already present financial burden, making paying off the debt a harder and longer process.
Drop in Credit Score
Unpaid medical bills may negatively affect your credit score. If a bill goes to collections, it will be reported to the credit bureaus, resulting in your taking a significant credit score loss.
Legal Action
In hopes of getting their payment, the medical provider might take legal action in order to recover the debt you owe them. This could result in wage garnishment, bank account levies, or liens on your personal property.
Denied Future Medical Care
An unpaid medical bill could result in you having trouble receiving non-emergency medical care, as some medical providers may not want to incur the risk of you not paying.
Can I Ask for More Money for My Settlement?
Yes, following a car accident, you may seek a higher settlement amount.
If you seek more compensation for your personal injury case, you should contact a personal injury lawyer who will evaluate your injuries and damages, gather evidence related to your claim, determine a fair settlement amount, make a demand letter, effectively negotiate on your behalf and file a lawsuit if necessary.
To obtain more compensation from your case, contact a personal injury lawyer from our law firm today at (702) 566-3600.
How Does Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney Affect Your Medical Bills
Hiring a personal injury attorney can lower your medical bill and even increase the amount of compensation you receive.
This is because a personal injury lawyer can provide you with:
- Expert Negotiating Skills: Experienced personal injury attorneys offer advanced negotiating skills that can be used to negotiate with your healthcare provider and the insurance company to reduce your medical bill after a car crash.
- Ensure Fair Medical Liens: Healthcare providers may treat you on a lien basis, meaning they will provide you with medical treatment under the condition that the bill is paid from your car accident settlement. Having a personal injury attorney lawyer will ensure that the medical liens are fair and in adherence with personal injury law.
- Handling Insurance Companies: Whether you are using your own insurance coverage to pay for the medical bill or seeking compensation from the other party's insurance company, having a car accident lawyer to defend your rights is a must. By hiring a personal injury attorney, you can be ensured that you obtain fair compensation.
- Maximizing Your Settlement: A personal injury lawyer's main goal is to maximize your settlement, and by doing so, they will help keep you out of medical debt.
- Proving Legal Expertise: An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to provide you with expert legal guidance, which will make you more confident in the complex and overwhelming personal injury case process.
If you were in a car accident in Las Vegas and seek maximum compensation, contact an experienced car accident lawyer at the Rodney Okano Car Accident Lawyer Law Firm, where we have over 20+ years of experience in Nevada car accident and personal injury law and ensure that you'll receive maximum compensation.
Call (702) 566-3600 for a free consultation where you can learn more about your personal injury claim for free.
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