Do Medical Bills Come Out Of The Settlement Amount In Your Orlando Personal Injury Case?

Medical bills represent a significant expense for accident victims. Even minor injuries can require multiple trips to the doctor, expensive tests, and injections. The most significant injuries require months of physical therapy and other rehabilitation. Innocent people often find themselves thousands of dollars in the hole through no fault of their own.

Do medical bills come out of the settlement? The answer is yes, but only in certain situations. If you pay out of pocket, then you can keep your entire settlement. JustCallMoe to find out more about how medical expenses are paid. An Orlando personal injury lawyer is standing by to answer your questions and start building an injury claim.

Who Pays for My Medical Care After a Florida Accident?

After an accident, injured victims need immediate care. Someone with a serious back injury possibly needs surgery. Even less serious injuries require a trip to the emergency room, X-rays or other imaging tests, prescription medication, and possibly nights in the hospital.

Medical providers like doctors and hospitals require that you present proof of insurance or provide some way of paying. Unfortunately, a personal injury settlement usually takes at least six months to settle. How do you cover the cost of care until then?

Most people pay for their care using one of the following methods:

• Out of pocket: You might pay cash or use a credit card, especially if you have no other insurance or any other way to secure access to medical care.
• Health insurance: You can use your health insurance to receive care, but the health insurer probably has the right to repayment. Most people have health insurance through work or from a private marketplace. Retirees usually have Medicare.
• Personal injury protection (PIP) benefits: These benefits pay for car accident injuries. They are no-fault, so you should be able to readily access them. Florida Statute § 627.736 requires that most drivers carry at least $10,000 in these benefits.
• Letter of protection: A doctor might agree to provide care in exchange for a lien on your settlement, also called a “letter of protection” in Florida. A provider agrees to provide care now in exchange for payment later, after the injured victim receives a settlement. This is a convenient way to obtain care if you have no money.

Do I Have to Pay Medical Bills From My Settlement?

It depends on how you paid for your care. If you paid out of pocket, then the settlement is yours to keep. Your attorney deducts their share for a contingency fee and other expenses, but you should receive the rest.

You may have to reimburse your health insurer if they paid for medical care. Read the details of the plan:

• Medicare: Medicare must be notified, and they have a statutory right to reimbursement from the settlement. If you fail to reimburse them, then you can owe penalties.
• Private health insurance: These plans often have a right to reimbursement, which is written into the insurance policy. You agreed to reimburse them when you signed up for the policy.

If a “letter of protection” was used, then the doctor has a right to get paid out of the settlement.

Your attorney is responsible for paying health insurers and doctors. Your lawyer will receive settlement proceeds from the defendant or their insurer. Your attorney will then take out an amount to satisfy the claim from your health insurer or doctor.

How Will My Insurer Know I Was in a Florida Accident?

What if your health insurer doesn’t know you were in a car accident? Will they know to put a lien on your settlement or demand reimbursement?

First, you should tell your doctor you were involved in an accident. They will note that fact. You probably agreed as part of your insurance policy to notify them if you were involved in an accident.

Second, the insurer constantly studies all the claims sent to them. They are always looking for evidence that someone was injured in an accident. For example, if you have treatment for whiplash and a broken wrist, then the insurer will likely follow up to ask if you were involved in an accident.

Don’t commit fraud by thinking you can lie to your health insurer about why you were hurt. For example, you might slip and fall in a grocery store but deny that fact because you don’t want to reimburse your health insurer. Medicare can levy a serious penalty if you refuse to pay them back, so it is best to be honest with everyone involved.

Negotiating Medical Bills Personal Injury Settlement

Your lawyer may negotiate with a health insurer or doctor to reduce the amount you need to pay them for medical care. This is essential if you have high medical expenses but a smaller settlement. Some defendants have no resources or only a small insurance policy. The settlement you receive might be eaten up entirely by the cost of your medical care.

For example, you might have received $50,000 in medical bills. But the defendant only had a small insurance policy, which paid $25,000. That means your health insurer could take the entire settlement.

An attorney can negotiate with an insurer or doctor. Although they have a right to reimbursement in most cases, they can voluntarily agree to accept a lesser amount. We might explain that your settlement will be entirely wiped out once medical bills are paid, leaving you with nothing.

JustCallMoe and Get the Legal Advice You Need

Our Orlando personal injury lawyer at JustCallMoe Injury and Accident Attorneys can negotiate a fair settlement to cover the cost of medical bills and still leave something for your pain and suffering and other losses. Call our office today to schedule a private consultation. We have handled countless personal injury cases, so we know the law regarding medical bills inside and out. Our firm has tackled a variety of personal injury cases, from car wrecks to slip and falls, and we can represent you in a claim. We provide legal representation to those in the 32810 zip code.