The General Approach
When it comes to paying medical bills in a personal injury case, a car accident, for instance, your options differ greatly depending on particulars and type of the accident. The general approach is that you would pay the bills by yourself, through a program like Medicare or through private health insurance. You would later seek reimbursement with the third-party through a lawsuit. So here are a few things to take note of:
Medical Expenses
Medical bills and expenses are a common category of damages in personal injury cases and are usually settled by whoever caused the injury. Accident victims who lack medical insurance or may be unable to work after the accident need options that will allow them to receive sufficient medical attention especially when the case is still pending in court. In a personal injury lawsuit, medical expense settlements can raise interesting questions, like when a health insurance company has already covered the medical bills. Would mean that the plaintiff may get reimbursed twice?
Subrogation
Insurance companies use a trick called subrogation in an insurance contract to recover the money they pay in medical expenses. These are the expenses paid as a result of injuries sustained by the third party. If a personal injury lawsuit goes through, and the party that caused the harm awards the victim, then subrogation kicks in and the victim has a contractual or legal duty to reimburse the insurance company the money that they had paid for their medical expenses. The payment comes directly out of the settlement made.
Subrogation doesn’t always happen. Depending on the federal/state law, a great Georgia car accident lawyer might find a few exclusions that nullify the money that health insurances seek to recover. It’s therefore important that you understand the legal aspect by consulting a qualified Georgia car accident lawyer or attorney on these matters.
Case and Compensation
Filing a lawsuit and submitting a personal injury claim are two very different things. When filing a car accident lawsuit, for instance, a good Georgia car accident lawyer will first try to settle the claim by negotiating directly with the at-fault party (their insurance company). Only when the insurance company refuses to take responsibility for the case or declines to offer a fair settlement is a lawsuit necessary.
One can be compensated for a variety of reasons including disfigurement or disability, medical bills, lost wages, and death with the loss of financial support, among others. It all depends on the particulars of the case. It is wiser to wait for the medical treatment to end before settling your claim. This way, you’re assured that the severity of your injuries and the total amount of the current and future medical bills is known.
Georgia car accident lawyer
Both the insurance company and whoever caused harm to you are always seeking to diminish the value of your claim. You will want to retain the services of a qualified Atlanta car accident lawyer to advise you and help you win the case.