February 18, 2021
When you get injured in an accident, your recovery will depend on medical treatments, medicine, surgeries, and recovering in a hospital or at home. Many people don’t know how the settlement would go; will they have to pay for the medical expenses out of their car accident claim or from their own money?
The answer is that you will pay your medical bills from your settlement.
When you and your attorney negotiate for your settlement with the insurance company, you will already have your medical expenses covered. The bills will be your proof for the settlement. Keep them and show them to the insurance company. They will be part of the special damages – the compensation for medical expenses and bills of the settlement.
Make sure to seek your compensation claim with a New York car accident attorney.
Insurance Coverage
Every case is different, so you can’t just know how much you get. It will depend on your injuries. For example, a fracture is automatically a severe injury in the state of New York.
The auto insurance company of the liable driver will cover the biggest part of your medical bills. In case there is no other party, you would turn to your insurance; this is why you have to have PIP (personal injury protection). Besides that, you can get Med-pay, which will cover 20% (the percentage that PIP didn’t cover). Med-pay covers the medical expenses when PIP reaches its limit.
New York is a No-Fault Insurance State
If your accident happened in New York, which is a “no-fault” state, which means that the insurers will be reimbursed by their insurance company for damages and injuries no matter who caused the accident.
After the accident and the medical exams and treatments, keep the medical bills, and send them to your lawyer. Every copy from your treatments will be sent to the other driver’s insurance company. Of course, you would have to pay your medical bills with your own money (the hospital won’t wait for you to get your settlement).
The insurers will cover the medical bills if you have health insurance; for example, if you use Medicare, they will cover your medical bills. In case you don’t have any insurance, the bills will be paid from your personal funds. Make sure to pay your bills on time, because you can’t be sure whether you get the settlement at all.
What if I Can’t Pay Immediately?
In some cases, people can’t cover their bills. In that situation, it’s best to contact your health provider and ask to put your account on hold, until you collect your settlement. This way you won’t have to pay the bills from your savings. The medical bills can be huge, so paying everything from your savings can leave you broke for the upcoming period until you get back to work and get the settlement.
Don’t expect the insurance company to just believe that you have high medical bills. You will have to show your bills and file a compensation claim.
Again, this isn’t a warranty that you will get a high settlement or a settlement at all. Insurance companies will do hard work to prove that you somehow contributed to your injuries, so they can reduce the car accident settlement or deny it.
This is why it’s a smart idea to go into this process with a car accident attorney.
What If You Caused the Accident?
If you were at fault for the accident, you will get your settlement from your own insurance company. If your medical bills are covered by your auto insurance, then your health insurance company may try to recover the payments from your insurance company settlement.
Hiring an attorney is a good way to understand the steps you need to take to get your car accident settlement. Also, the attorney will gather evidence and make sure that you get a decent car accident settlement. Many people settled their cases by accepting the first offer from the insurers and ended up with unreasonably low claims. They had to cover the rest of the bills with their own money.
Many accident victims can’t handle the legal procedure, especially if they are still in the recovery process. Having an attorney who will represent you is a good way to be sure that someone is working for your best interest.
Our team at Cellino Law will answer your questions, review your case, and help you finish this process.
Content checked by the personal injury attorney Ross Cellino. As a family man and a trial attorney, I pride myself on winning cases and serving the community. With over 35 years of experience, I understand the function of a jury, how juries arrive at conclusions, and the role that the jury plays in administering justice. I know how to win cases. You can find us in Manhattan, Buffalo, Melville, Rochester, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and other locations throughout New York.