Car Accident Medical Bills: Who Pays?

November 1, 2022 | By Francis Firm Injury Attorneys
Car Accident Medical Bills: Who Pays?

Who Pays Medical Bills After a Car Accident?

Many injured people need medical care after a car accident. Some car crash injuries need weeks or months of treatment, followed by rehabilitation. How would you pay for your medical bills if someone else hurt you in the crash? Your health insurer may object to paying all of your medical bills, so what do you do?

There are several ways you can get your medical bills covered after a Texas car accident. First, keep reading to learn the details. Then, contact a lawyer at The Francis Firm today if you were in a Dallas or Fort Worth accident recently and don’t know what to do about your medical costs.

What Medical Bills May Arise After a Car Accident?

A severe car accident can saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars of medical bills that you may be unable to pay, including:

  • ER bills
  • Surgery costs
  • Hospital stay costs
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Prescription medications
  • Permanent disability expenses

You may receive many medical invoices from various doctors and your hospital bills. There also may be more bills for blood tests, radiology tests, MRIs, CT scans, physical therapy, and prosthetics. How will these medical bills be paid after a car accident?

A Dallas car accident attorney will collect your medical bills, talk to your physicians, and obtain an estimate for your past and future medical expenses. Next, they may submit a demand letter for payment from the other driver’s insurance company.

Texas Is An At-Fault State

In Texas, the at-fault driver is liable for covering all accident bills. But before the liable driver’s insurance company covers your medical bills, your attorney must prove they were negligent.

However, many Texas drivers only carry minimal liability protection, which is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. A serious injury can quickly add up to more than $60,000 in medical bills. This can leave you in a precarious position where you need treatment but cannot pay while the case is pending.

It can take months to get compensation in a Dallas car crash settlement. The other driver’s insurance company may fight the claim and make you go to court to resolve the matter. You have medical bills to pay.

One option in Texas for getting the initial healthcare bills paid for is to file a claim on your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage if you opted for it. Insurance companies are required to offer it in Texas, but you can waive it. This policy pays for the first few thousand dollars of medical bills after an accident, regardless of fault.

PIP is required to provide at least $2,500 of coverage per person unless you reject the coverage. It covers you, family members in the home, and any driver who is given permission to use the vehicle.

PIP also covers 80% of your lost income and essential services while you are injured. Many drivers reject PIP coverage, but it can help a lot right after a car accident to get medical bills covered quickly.

If PIP isn’t available, your health insurer may pick up many of the car accident medical bills. When the other driver caused the accident, your health insurance policy may rely on insurance subrogation to obtain payment from the liable driver’s insurance company.

But if you have severe injuries, the medical bills can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Few health insurance companies will cover such high expenses. So your Dallas personal injury attorney may need to file a claim against the liable driver’s auto insurance.

Your attorney must negotiate with their insurance company to cover your medical bills. They may issue a demand letter to pay your medical costs. The insurance company may offer a low settlement in response.

You may need to file a lawsuit to cover your medical bills and expenses. Your healthcare providers may want to pay your outstanding medical bills. That is where a car accident attorney can help. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney can get your bills covered.

How Your Attorney Helps with Medical Bills

A Southlake car accident attorney can help you in many ways after a car accident. A significant help for many car accident victims is getting medical care and their bills taken care of. How?

It is critical to understand that some Dallas-area healthcare providers might be reluctant to take personal injury patients because they are afraid of payment delays. Many experienced car crash attorneys network with a team of medical professionals who may be willing to treat you.

They might agree to treat you and wait to be paid for their services when the case is complete. If your attorney sets up this arrangement, you might not even need to pay out-of-pocket costs for your medical bills. Also, this agreement ensures you’ll receive the care you need to recover.

This kind of arrangement with doctors is known as a medical or hospital lien. If you don’t have enough insurance coverage to pay your medical bills, your attorney can help you sign a medical lien letter. This gives the medical provider or facility the right to recover what they are owed from the settlement or verdict award.

Your attorney may be able to negotiate lower bills with your medical providers, too. This is one of the less-understood aspects of what personal injury attorneys do for injured clients. As a result, your attorney might save you considerable money and stress on medical bills, so you can focus on getting better.

Contact A Car Accident Attorney Now

After a car accident, there can be confusion about what to do and where to turn. In addition, you may have severe injuries but are unsure if your health insurance company will cover everything.

You must speak to a Dallas car accident lawyer if this happens to you. Your attorney can help figure out how to get the medical treatment you need and cover your medical bills. Paying your medical bills after a car accident isn’t usually a problem with an attorney helping you. The Dallas car accident attorneys at The Francis Firm can help you obtain the compensation you need to pay medical bills and other expenses. You only pay legal fees if you win a settlement or verdict, so you have nothing to lose. Contact one of our attorneys today.