Options For Covering Medical Bills After A Car Accident
Although you go to great lengths to be a careful and safe driver, it seems at times as though you are surrounded by other motorists speeding and changing lanes without looking or signaling. Just as bad are the drivers checking their phones for text messages instead of paying attention to maintain control over their vehicle.
A car accident caused by the fault of another motorist can force you to miss weeks or even months from work while receiving medical treatment and recovering from your injuries. It does not take long before you begin wondering how to pay the cost of the medical care, rehabilitation and other services that you need now and may need in the future.
Even though the law gives you the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against other drivers who were at fault and caused the collision, you need to find a way to pay for the medical care provided to you. This article explores some of the options available for covering medical bills until settlement of your claim for damages.
Typical medical expenses when injured in a car accident
A crash is a violent event that exerts tremendous force on drivers and other occupants of the vehicles involved in it. Some of the common injuries caused by car accidents include:
- Fractures and broken bones.
- Lacerations and abrasions that may cause scarring and disfigurement.
- Bruises and contusions.
- Neck injuries, including whiplash.
- Loss of limbs and appendages
- Back and spinal cord injuries.
- Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.
- Injuries to the head and brain, including traumatic brain injury.
- PTSD and other psychological trauma.
- Death.
Typical medical expenses incurred by people injured in car accidents include:
- Ambulance services.
- Hospital and emergency department charges.
- Physician services.
- Nursing services.
- Surgery.
- Prescription medications.
- Diagnostic testing and laboratory services.
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation services.
- Canes, crutches, and other medical equipment and supplies.
Medical expenses do not end with the care you receive immediately after an accident. Follow-up visits to doctors, physical therapy, and rehabilitation generally continue after the treatment that you receive on the day of the crash.
Options for paying medical bills
Settlements and judgments from lawsuits filed against the parties whose fault caused you to be injured take time. Hospitals, doctors, and other providers of medical services want to be paid soon after they provide their services. This can be a challenge when you cannot work and are probably struggling to meet your day-to-day living expenses.
The following options may be available to help you to pay medical bills after a car accident:
- No-fault insurance: Only 12 states have laws requiring no-fault coverage as part of your automobile insurance policy. If you live in a state with a no-fault insurance law, your own insurance company pays all or some of your medical expenses and lost earnings. As implied by the name, payments under no-fault coverage are made without assessing fault or blame. There may be a limit to the amount the insurance company pays, so check with your insurance company for more information.
- Medical payment coverage: Insurance companies in states that do not have no-fault laws offer medical payment or med-pay coverage to their auto insurance policies. Med-pay coverage pays medical expenses for treatment related to injuries that you suffer in a car accident up to the policy limits. If it is not required by the law in your state, your insurance company may offer it as optional coverage you can add to your car insurance policy.
- Workers’ compensation: If an accident occurs while you are driving in connection with your employment, you may file a claim to have your medical treatment covered through the workers’ compensation insurance policy carried by your employer.
- Health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid: Medical bills from a car accident may be covered through your private health insurance. They also may be covered through Medicare or Medicaid if you are eligible for either of those government insurance programs.
It is important for you to note that payment of medical bills through workers’ compensation, health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid may come with a condition. You may need to repay some or all of what was paid by insurance from the settlement of a personal injury lawsuit.
Lawsuit funding offers another option to pay medical expenses
Lawsuit funding may be an option for obtaining money to pay your medical bills while a personal injury lawsuit is pending. A funding company reviews the lawsuit to determine the likelihood of it ending with a judgment or settlement awarding you damages against the parties who caused the accident. It also estimates the amount of a future settlement or judgment and agrees to pay you a percentage of its future value right now.
The benefits of lawsuit funding are that you receive an immediate cash advance to use as you wish, and the funding company does not look to you or your assets for payment in the event you lose the lawsuit. The repayment of the cash advance and interest or a funding fee charged by the company comes from the proceeds of a judgment or settlement.
To qualify for lawsuit funding, you must have an attorney and there must be a lawsuit pending that asks for monetary damages from the party that caused your injuries. Speak with the personal injury attorney handling your claim to determine whether lawsuit funding offered by companies such as Peachtree Financial Solutions or other options are available to help you to pay medical bills from a car accident.
