In most cases, yes, you will need to pay your medical bills before your personal injury case reaches a settlement. While your case is still working its way through the legal process, the responsibility for keeping up with your medical expenses generally falls on you. However, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck paying everything out of pocket. There are several options available to help cover your costs in the meantime.
Read on for a closer look at how medical bills are handled during a pending personal injury case in Illinois, such as one based on a car accident or truck accident. Learn more from our Chicago car accident lawyers today.
Your Health Insurance Can Cover Your Treatment
If you have health insurance, it can be used to pay for treatment related to your accident injuries while your case is pending. Many people don’t realize this is an option because they assume the at-fault driver’s insurance should be covering everything. Eventually, it should, but that payment comes through the compensation you recover at the end of your case, not while your treatment is still ongoing.
Using your health insurance during this period is usually a smart move. Your insurer will pay the providers at their negotiated rates, which are often much lower than what you’d be billed without insurance. When your case settles, your health insurer may have a right to be reimbursed for what they paid. This is called a lien or a right of subrogation, and your attorney can often negotiate that amount down.
Medical Payment Coverage on Your Auto Policy
If your injuries are from a motor vehicle accident, your own auto insurance policy may include medical payment coverage, sometimes called MedPay. This is a no-fault benefit that pays for medical expenses related to the accident regardless of who caused it. It kicks in right away and can help cover your hospital bills and other medical costs while your case is pending.
MedPay coverage limits vary by policy. Some policies offer as little as $5,000, while others go much higher. Check with your insurer to find out what your policy includes.
Letters of Protection
In some situations, your attorney may be able to arrange what’s known as a letter of protection (LOP) with your medical providers. This is an agreement where the provider agrees to delay collecting payment until your case is resolved, in exchange for a guarantee that they’ll be paid out of the settlement proceeds.
LOPs can be helpful if you don’t have health insurance or if your coverage doesn’t fully cover the treatment you need. Not every provider accepts them, but many do, particularly those who regularly treat accident injury patients.
What Happens to My Medical Bills When My Case Settles?
Once your case resolves, your medical bills are usually paid out of your settlement or jury verdict. Your attorney will typically handle the disbursement process, which includes paying off any outstanding provider balances, resolving liens from your health insurer or other parties, deducting attorney’s fees, and then distributing the remaining balance to you.
This is one of the reasons why keeping detailed records of every medical expense throughout your case is important. Every dollar you’ve spent on treatment related to your injuries is part of your economic damages and should be reflected in the value of your claim.
Contact Meyers & Flowers To Learn More About Your Legal Rights and Options
Managing medical bills during a pending personal injury case can feel stressful, but there are ways to handle them without draining your savings. Call Meyers & Flowers for help with your case by calling (630) 576-9696 or messaging us online. We offer a free consultation and work on contingency, so we only get paid for our work if we win compensation for you.