Unfortunately, car accidents can cause serious injuries. In many cases, surgery may be required to repair an injury caused by the crash. When surgery is recommended, we are often asked by our clients whether they should go through with surgery before or after their claim is resolved. The answer to this question will vary depending on the circumstances.
Will the Amount of Insurance Coverage Affect My Medical Treatment?
Yes, the amount of available insurance coverage will play a role in determining what medical treatment you will undergo during the course of your claim. With that said, the affect should only be on the timing of your treatment. For example, if the person who caused your crash only has minimal bodily injury coverage, let’s say $10,000, then you may not want to have any recommended surgical procedures until your claim has resolved. This is because if you have the surgery, your medical bills will exceed the $10,000 policy limits and there will not be enough in insurance money to pay any lien asserted by the either the doctors or health insurance. However, if you were to wait until your claim resolves, then you could use your health insurance and no lien will be asserted because your case is over. This is, of course, dependent on whether you have health insurance or not. If, however, the available policy limits are high and the insurance company is refusing to pay a reasonable amount for your claim, then we would likely recommend that you have the surgery.
Why Do I Have to Pay My Health Insurance Back for Medical Treatment I Received After the Crash When I Pay a Premium for that Coverage?
If you’ve received medical treatment for injuries in a Riverview car accident and your health insurance has paid for that treatment, your health insurer will assert a lien on any personal injury claim you may assert. This means that your health insurer will want to be paid back for the amount it has paid for your accident-related medical treatment. In other words, if you were to recover from the at-fault driver the amount of the medical bills you incurred (which were paid for by your health insurer), you will have to reimburse your insurer what it paid for treatment on your behalf. If, however, you don’t recover, you will not owe your health insurer anything other than what you already pay, i.e., your premium and deductible.
Can I Get Medical Treatment If I Don’t Have Health Insurance?
Yes. Even if you don’t have health insurance you can still get the medical treatment you need after your accident. There are many doctors who are willing to help people that have been injured in an accident who cannot afford health insurance. These doctors agree to provide medical treatment under what is called a “Letter of Protection.” This simply means that they are willing to provide treatment and defer receipt of payment in exchange for a promise that you will pay them out of any recovery you receive from your personal injury claim. By virtue of the Letter of Protection, your doctors have a lien similar to that of health insurance. The big difference is that, unlike a health insurance lien, if you don’t recover on your claim you are still responsible for the payment of all medical bills that have been incurred.
Free Information
If you have questions about your Florida accident case, you can download our Free Reports:
which are available at our website, or you can click the link provided. You can also contact us at (813) 419-3866 to talk directly to a Riverview personal injury attorney now.