How to Handle Medical Bills While Waiting for a Settlement

by Staff Blogger | February 24th, 2020

There’s no getting around it—auto accidents are expensive. Between ambulance rides, overnight stays in the hospital, surgical procedures, and weeks, months, or even years of physical rehabilitation, the costs associated with a crash can be enormous. To make matters worse, many auto accident victims suffer disabling injuries that make it difficult or impossible for them to work. That means no paychecks until they recover, even while they’re racking up bills. For victims and their loved ones, there’s no price too high for getting potentially lifesaving medical treatment. But when the bills arrive, they may simply be unable to afford them. Many victims pursue compensation through the other drivers’ insurance policies, but they often find out that adjusters are uncooperative and drag their feet when it comes to getting their claims moving. That means even the most obvious situations of negligence-related crashes can leave innocent victims watching their bills pile up while the negotiation and legal processes play out. At Berg Injury Lawyers, our California auto accident attorneys work hard to get fast results for our clients, but we also know that crash-related expenses don’t wait for claims to settle.

These Resources Can Help You Stay on Top of Your Healthcare Costs

If you don’t have enough money on hand to start paying your medical bills after a crash, you still have many options while waiting for a settlement. This includes:
  • Your health insurance coverage—If you have health insurance coverage, you can use it to pay for many of your crash-related expenses, including the ambulance ride, in-patient treatments, and physical rehabilitation. It’s important to tell the hospital about your health insurance coverage as soon as possible, so that crash-related costs can be filed and billed correctly.
  • Medicare or Medicaid coverage—If you’re enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid, you may be able to use that coverage toward your crash-related expenses. However, you also may be required to pay back that money if you’re later awarded a settlement.
  • Subrogation—Subrogation is a process in which the insurance provider of the injured party pays their expenses under the assumption that it will be compensated for those payments after the victim receives a settlement. Subrogation is commonly used when it’s clear that the victim wasn’t at fault for the crash and has a strong basis for a compensation claim.
  • Your own auto insurance—Typically, victims are paid by the at-fault drivers’ insurance companies after crashes. However, victims may be paid directly by their own insurance policies if they purchased supplemental coverage, such as med pay coverage or personal injury protection. These policies often pay regardless of who was at fault for the crash.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we’ll not only work to help you get fair compensation for your crash-related expenses, but we’ll also help you find the best way to stay on top of your bills while you wait for your settlement check. We know that you have enough to deal with already, and unpaid bills piling up is the last thing you should have to worry about while you’re recovering from your injuries.

When You Call Us, We Have One Goal in Mind: Getting You Paid

Being able to rely on other sources of income and payment methods for your medical bills can give you peace of mind during a difficult time. We understand that waiting for a settlement isn’t easy. The real solution comes when you get the compensation you deserve. Simply put, if you were hurt in a crash that wasn’t your fault, you should be paid fairly by the other driver’s insurance company. Our California car accident attorneys work hard on ensuring victims like you get full compensation, and we don’t waste time when it comes to collecting evidence, building cases, and negotiating with the insurance company. But we also know that personal injury claims often take months to resolve due to uncooperative adjusters. The sooner you contact us after your crash, the sooner we can start building your claim—and the sooner your case will either settle or go to court. That means less time waiting for a settlement and wondering how you’ll pay for your medical bills. Contact us today for a free consultation and to find out how we can help.