Personal Injury Treatment: How and Who Pays the Bill?

Personal Injury Treatment: How and Who Pays the Bill?

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Suffering personal injuries after an accident usually represents a double pain: the physical one, typical of the blows and wounds to heal, and the emotional one, derived from the stress generated by knowing that a wave of expenses for treatment of these injuries is coming.

Fortunately, California’s personal injury law makes it easier for victims of a third party’s negligent actions or misconduct to obtain compensation for financial losses, medical expenses, or lost income.

It is important that if you or a loved one faces personal injuries, you know the alternatives to obtain the maximum compensation possible after seeking compensation for medical expenses associated with damage to health and loss of income. In California personal injury cases, you may also seek compensation for future damages associated with long-term medical care or for pain and suffering, a type of compensatory damages encompassing the emotional and psychological trauma a person experiences in the aftermath of a personal, and that counts in the economic value of the damages suffered.

How can I pay for my personal injury treatment?

Personal injuries must be treated promptly to avoid further health complications. Generally, the times in which you could hope to receive compensation from the person responsible for your injuries are incompatible with the urgency of treating them. Therefore, you must have financial resources at your fingertips to pay for your treatments.

However, all is not lost. You have a few options to choose from while getting the person responsible for your injuries to compensate you financially for them:

Payment from your insurer

These payments are usually covered by your insurance company, which will pay the costs for the amount you are insured.

But not everything is rosy: the insurer will then try to recover the money it paid for your personal injury treatment through the figure of subrogation, which allows it to collect that amount from the party responsible for your injury.

The subrogation payment is set forth in the personal injury claim and is deducted from the compensatory damages that the insurance company of the person responsible for the personal injuries must pay.

Medical expense coverage (Med-Pay)

Med-Pay, or medical payments coverage insurance, is a form of automobile insurance supplement coverage that can be purchased in the state of California. Depending on the coverage limits paid, it can cover medical bills and even funerals for both the covered driver and passengers.

One of the things that makes this policy special is that Med-Pay will pay your medical expenses regardless of who was at fault: you won’t have to prove that someone else was at fault for your injuries.

Med-Pay has several advantages:

• Coverage per incident and not per year
• Coverage for professionals not covered by health policies.
• It applies even when the beneficiary is a pedestrian or passenger in another person’s vehicle.

Med-Pay policy limits range from $1,000 to $10,000, but more extensive coverages of up to $50,000 are possible through large insurers like State Farm.

Public and private health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, and others)

To pay for treatment for your personal injuries, you can use your company’s and personal health insurance or options like Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

These options, which are good alternatives, are not free of disadvantages such as:

• Exclusion of certain treatments or partial coverage.
• Limits on therapies and medical visits per year
• Restriction of specialists to consult depending on insurance affiliation
• Obligation to reimburse the company for any money recovered after a personal injury claim.

Financing or seizure

Some companies lend money to treat personal injuries, but they almost always require a lien to be signed, determining the right to reimbursement from the judgment in exchange.

Medical Lien Payment in California

This is a useful tool for paying for the medical care you will require for your personal injuries, but it is not advisable to use it right away. In fact, it is suggested that you use it only if you do not have health insurance or cannot pay for your treatments.

The medical lien allows you to receive treatment for personal injuries and pay for it later. The doctor offers treatment at discounted prices, and then, via a binding agreement that an attorney must review, the debt is collected from your personal injury settlement or judgment.

There are several disadvantages or risks to this option: Not all doctors or specialists are willing to work with liens, and if you lose your personal injury case or do not recover enough money, you will still have to pay for medical expenses. This means the doctor can take you to court to collect payment.

Personal Injury Payment by Settlement or Lawsuit

In California, the law will allow you to file a personal injury lawsuit and seek damages if a third party’s negligent or malicious actions injure you.

If the agreement route is chosen, the parties abandon going to court. Payment of an agreed sum is established, and the lawyer will negotiate with the insurer of the person responsible for the injuries.

After the financial proposal that both parties must accept, a waiver form is prepared that the victim and the accused will sign. This document releases the person responsible for the injuries – after payment of the agreed sum – from any future claim for the same case.

The check issued by the insurer of the person responsible for the injuries in the plaintiff’s name is deposited in a trust account. After a series of steps, the lawyer delivers the settlement money to the victim, with the respective deductions for fees and expenses.

Going to trial to obtain payment for personal injuries is the way to go if there are deep disagreements between the parties regarding the amount of compensation and scope of damages. Trials can last a year and even longer if the other party files an appeal. Likewise, they involve an investment of time and money, but in some cases, it is the only way to protect the interests of both parties.

In conclusion, compensation via settlement may be quicker and less stressful, but if your injuries worsen, you cannot make new claims. And even if a trial takes longer, the compensation awarded for personal injuries is almost always greater than settlements, and you can increase the amount you receive by also seeking punitive damages.

Why should I hire a personal injury lawyer?

The stress and anguish caused by facing personal injuries can be more bearable if you have expert advice to guide you in taking the appropriate steps. A California personal injury attorney can help you navigate this process more expeditiously and increase your chances of success.

For example, the specialist could help you argue against subrogation claims from your insurance company that you have not recovered, have additional expenses, and therefore cannot pay your insurance company what it previously paid for your medical bills.

In addition, they can efficiently guide you in the claims that will be made against the person responsible for the personal injuries you suffered, for which it is necessary to receive timely advice from the first moment. In personal injury cases, medical documentation of everything that occurred is essential since non-medical opinions are not admissible in court to prove the nature and extent of each damage.

Also, remember that in California, you have only two years from the date you suffered your personal injury to file your claim. Time may not be enough for the procedural steps needed, so it is essential to have the help of a personal injury attorney to file the lawsuit as soon as possible.

Kannan Law, your best alternative in personal injury cases in California

If you have to deal with the consequences of suffering personal injuries, or if you are facing a lawsuit for this reason, at Kannan Law, we are ready to help.

We handle the legal side of these cases and have the best personal injury lawyers in California. We will be happy to advise and guide you through your case. Contact us!