A new study has shown that nearly two out of three bankruptcies stem from medical bills, and even people with health insurance face financial disaster if they experience a personal injury.

“The U.S. health care financing system is broken, and not only for the poor and uninsured,” the authors of the bankruptcy study said.  “Middle-class families frequently collapse under the strain of a health care system [such as providing medical treatment for personal injuries] that treats physical wounds, but often inflicts fiscal ones.”

About 60% of bankruptcies in the United States are a result of medical bill payments for personal injuries.

Our firm’s San Diego personal injury attorneys believe that accidents can happen at any time.  Car accident injuries can be anywhere from a spinal cord injury causing paralysis (i.e. quadriplegia and paraplegia) to traumatic brain injuries (concussions) and even emotional trauma.  These personal injuries can often result in high medical bills and someone has to pay for them — with or without medical insurance.

Unfortunately for those that suffer personal injury, medical bills are replacing hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place as the major cause of backruptcy.

In 2007, medical problems contributed to 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies.  Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical bills rose by about 50 percent.  Hospital costs accounted for about half the expenses (48 percent), followed by prescription drugs (18.6 percent), doctor’s bills (15.1 percent) and insurance premiums (4.1 percent).  Medical equipment and nursing home care rounded out the lengthy medical bill list.

The health problems that left patients with the highest out-of-pocket medical bills were:

  • Neurologic (i.e., multiple sclerosis): $34,167
  • Diabetes: $26,971
  • Personal Injury: 25,096
  • Stroke: $23,380
  • Mental illnesses: $23,178
  • Heart disease: $21,955

Our San Diego personal injury attorneys understand that personal injuries in addition to causing pain and suffering and emotional trauma you will force you to seek help paying medical bills.  Is saving money in the short run worth the long term medical bills that come from car accidents that cause personal injuries?

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in San Diego.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.