How Will I Pay all my Medical Bills After a Car Accident?
While your medical bills are one category of damages for which you can seek to recover from another party following a car accident, you will typically only be compensated at the conclusion of the claims process. Therefore, in the aftermath of the accident, it is imperative that you hire a qualified car accident lawyer to help you navigate this process, avoid an avalanche of medical bills, and achieve the justice you deserve.
Victims often file insurance claims following a car accident with the intention of covering their medical bills, but that is not how the process works. Instead of compensating or reimbursing you for your medical bills as they arise, the insurance company will likely wait until the very end of the claims process before reimbursing you. In the meantime, it is not difficult to imagine how you can become inundated and overwhelmed with medical bills.
Avoid making this mistake at all costs
This is not the time to mess around or to think that you can fight the insurance companies by yourself. They specialize in taking advantage of innocent victims like you and minimizing the amount that you and your family can recover. Fighting insurance companies on your own can cost you and your loved ones millions of dollars and ensure that justice does not get served.
A local firm with proven results
At Ellis Injury Law, our Los Angeles car accident lawyers have been fighting against insurance companies on behalf of Southern Californians for a quarter of a century, and we have won over $350 Million for our clients. We have recovered at least $2 Million for victims of motor vehicle accidents in seven individual cases.
Common methods of covering medical bills
Typically, while a case is pending, car accident victims cover medical expenses in one (or more) of the following ways:
- Private health insurance
- Medicaid, which covers people of all ages who are eligible for federally-assisted income maintenance payments
- Medicare, which covers people ages 65 and older
- MedPay, which covers the policy holder/driver and the passengers in your vehicle up to a certain amount
The standard option for paying these bills is to utilize your health insurance plan. However, there may be bills that are not covered by your insurance, but some of these bills may be covered by the medical payments coverage stipulated in your auto insurance plan.
What does MedPay cover?
Anything your private auto insurance policy does not cover may end up being covered by MedPay, including bills such as the following:
- In-home nursing services
- X-rays and surgical procedures
- Emergency first-responders and ambulance fees
- Hospital and doctor visits
- Dental procedures and prostheses necessitated by the car accident
- Injuries to a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a vehicle
Other payment options to consider
It is also worthwhile to ask your health insurance provider if a payment plan can be arranged, as many of these companies will present this option upon hearing that you are a victim that is in the middle of a settlement. While these payment plans will likely be affordable, you may be required to make monthly payments or risk forfeiting this option.
One other option is for your attorney to write a Letter of Protection. This notifies medical providers of what is going on, asks them to delay collection of payments until the settlement is finalized, and promises that they will be paid in full at the conclusion of the claims process.
Once you receive the compensation from your settlement, it is your responsibility to repay any other entities that paid your medical bills while the claims process with the at-fault party’s insurance company was ongoing.
Do not delay – time is of the essence
Under California law, you have a limited amount of time in which to file a claim after an injury resulting from a car accident. The statute of limitations is two years, meaning that if you do not file your claim within two years of the accident, you permanently forfeit your right to recover.
Reach us today for your free consultation; no fees unless you win
With that in mind, why delay? Our car accident attorneys are standing by to help you. Ellis Injury Law offers free initial consultations, our phone lines are always open, and we do not collect a penny unless you win. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, call us right now for your free consultation.