Who Pays My Medical Bills?.

A lot of our clients are initially reluctant to have their health insurance pay their medical bills. Usually they are afraid that it will limit their personal injury settlement, while others believe the responsible party’s insurance company should front the cost of their medical treatment.

Our personal injury lawyers want you to know that the only person responsible for your medical bills — before your insurance claim settles — is you. If you are like most people that have health care your health insurance company will handle your medical bills. If you do not have health insurance, our lawyers may be able to set up a medical lien provided you pay for it with your settlement at the end of your case.

You Can Recover Money Your Health Insurance Paid

Generally speaking, you can still recover damages for your medical bills, even if they were paid by your health insurance. The exact amount of money you can recover depends upon your health insurance.

Of course, you may be required to pay back your own health insurance company for anything spent on your behalf. Most health insurance have the right of reimbursement — meaning, your insurance company can have you repay them from your settlement for any medical bills they paid on your behalf — if another person is responsible for the car accident that caused your injuries.

Unfortunately, you cannot be paid twice in your settlement for the same medical costs.

So how can you tell if your health insurance company, or anybody, is attempting to recover money from your auto accident settlement? You might receive a letter from your health insurance company — or another company acting on their behalf — asking if another party was responsible for your injury. Don’t worry because our experienced personal injury lawyers will help you respond to this in way that benefits your claim.

Your health insurance company contract usually contains a provision in fine print that allows it to recover money out of your settlement. According to California law, hospitals may also be allowed to assert a claim against your settlement — meaning their name will appear on your settlement check.

You Can Reduce Your Medical Bill Reimbursement

Fortunately, California law places some limits on the amount of money a health insurance company can recover from you. This helps an injured person reduce the amount of money he or she would have to pay after settlement, meaning more money in your pocket!

Our personal injury lawyers work very hard to significantly reduce — if not completely waive — the amount of money you must repay after your settlement.

Our Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You With Medical Bills

Since 1992, our San Diego law firm has been helping people pay back their medical bills after an injury, and we can do it for you too. Our firm’s founder, Michael Pines, is a former insurance company lawyer, so he knows how the insurance companies work.

Let us handle the insurance companies and help you recover what you lost.

If you or a loved one would like to seek legal action for injuries in a car accident, contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible at 1-800-655-6585 for a FREE consultation with an experienced San Diego personal injury attorney or click here to submit your case for a FREE online review. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe nothing until we recover money on your behalf.

Most Recent Blog Post

[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.