Don’t Let Past Medical Expenses Ruin Your Future

Putting your accident-related bills in the rear-view mirror

After an accident, it can be difficult to put the pieces together and move on with your life. Even if you’re not facing a permanent injury or disability, you may be staring down the barrel of thousands of dollars in medical bills that you have no way of paying. Fortunately, there’s hope: It may be possible to secure compensation for these expenses and reduce your long-term debts.

Negotiating With Your Insurance Company

If you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident for which you were wholly or partially not at fault, you’ll most likely negotiate a settlement with your insurance company. If another driver was involved in the accident, you may end up negotiating with their insurance company as well. Regardless, insurance settlements typically involve payment for medical bills.

To ensure that you’re fairly compensated for these expenses, you’ll need to meticulously document and produce all bills that can be traced back to your accident. Depending on the nature of your injuries and the time elapsed between the accident and settlement dates, it’s possible that some of these costs will apply to care for long-term or chronic injuries.

Watch Out for Medical Insurance Liens

It’s important to note that you can’t compel auto insurance companies or other drivers to cover the cost of your medical bills on an ongoing basis. Instead, you’ll either pay out of pocket in anticipation of your settlement or use your existing health insurance policy to cover the costs. If your health insurance provider is involved with the payment of your post-accident medical bills, it may place a lien on a portion of any future settlement with your auto insurance company or counterparty. If this occurs, you’ll be legally required to cover that lien by forfeiting the equivalent part of your settlement.

On the bright side, this means that you won’t be beholden to your health insurance company for past medical bills. However, you may need to use your settlement funds to cover the cost of copays, coinsurance, and other medical expenses for long-term treatment of your accident-related injuries.

Work With a Trusted Accident and Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Baton Rouge, LA

Regardless of how your accident occurred or what sort of long-term injuries it caused, it’s critical for you to address the problem head-on. If you’re dealing with crippling medical bills that threaten to plague you long after your injuries have healed, your next move should be to contact a trusted attorney with years of experience in this area of the law. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit our website or fill out our online contact form.