You may require extensive medical treatment, including hospitalization and rehabilitation, if you suffered serious injuries in a car crash in Indiana. You may be worried about how you will afford the mounting medical bills. You may rely on various sources of money to pay for medical treatment for car injuries, including insurance, money from a settlement or judgment, or your own funds. In Indiana, you may file a car accident claim against the at-fault driver and pursue compensation for your medical expenses.
A knowledgeable Indiana car accident lawyer can review the details of your crash and discuss your options for paying your incoming bills while pursuing full compensation for your accident-related expenses.
What Are Different Ways My Medical Bills Can Be Paid After My Car Accident?
Accident victims often ask, “How are medical bills paid after a car accident?” You may rely on various means to pay your medical bills, such as:
- MedPay: Car insurance companies may offer optional coverage called Medical Payments or MedPay that provides compensation for initial medical expenses after a crash, regardless of who caused the accident. You may file a claim against your MedPay policy for payment of medical bills, up to the policy limits.
- Health insurance: You can turn to your private health insurance to cover treatment costs. However, private health insurance policies may require an insured patient to first seek payment from MedPay or other medical coverage under a car insurance policy.
- Medicare/Medicaid: If you have health coverage through Medicare or Medicaid, you may use that coverage to pay for treatment of your car accident injuries.
- Out-of-pocket: After a car crash, you may dip into your savings to pay out-of-pocket for medical treatment and rehabilitation services that your insurance doesn’t cover. But that seems unfair. You should not be responsible for paying off medical debt if another driver caused your injuries.
- Injury Claim: You may file an insurance claim against the at-fault party’s insurance and seek an insurance settlement or court award to cover your medical expenses.
- Payment deferment: Healthcare providers may agree to defer debt collection for medical bills if they understand you are pursuing a car accident settlement or judgment.
- Hospital liens: Hospitals and other healthcare providers may establish a formal lien against your car accident settlement or judgment, which entitles the facility or provider to demand payment of outstanding balances.
Do Insurance Companies Pay Medical Bills Directly?
Insurance companies typically do not pay medical bills for car accident injuries directly to the provider who issued them. If a person has MedPay coverage, their medical provider may have the option of submitting their bills to the insurer for payment. However, health care providers will typically bill their patients. If you receive a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance, your attorney can then negotiate with the health care providers to resolve your unpaid medical bills and satisfy medical liens.
What Happens if the At-Fault Driver Only Had Minimal Insurance Coverage or is Uninsured?
Some people drive uninsured or have only the minimum liability insurance coverage required by Indiana law. A person injured in a motor vehicle crash caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver may need to file a claim against their own UM/UIM policy for coverage.
Indiana law requires that all auto insurance policies issued in the state include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. However, a policyholder can decline uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in writing. Unless you remember specifically rejecting this coverage, your automobile insurance likely includes UM/UIM coverage. In most cases, insurers will provide uninsured and underinsured coverage equal to the bodily injury liability coverage limits. Indiana requires insurers to provide at least $50,000 in underinsured motorist coverage.
Uninsured motorist coverage applies in car accidents involving an at-fault driver without liability insurance. Your underinsured motorist coverage may apply if your financial losses from an accident exceed the at-fault driver’s liability insurance coverage.
What Do You Do If The Medical Bills Are Coming Due Before You Receive Your Accident Settlement?
If you have medical bills that are due before you are able to settle your accident claim or receive payment from an at-fault driver’s insurance company, you may have options to ensure that your bills do not go unpaid. Your attorney may send a letter of protection to healthcare providers asking them to defer bill collection efforts against you pending the settlement of your car accident case against the other driver’s insurance company. This may help protect your credit. The health insurer will expect to be paid from any compensation that you obtain through a settlement or award.
Could Subrogation Affect My Car Accident Settlement?
If someone else was at fault for your car accident injuries, your health care insurance may pay your medical care bills, then use the subrogation process to seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver’s insurance.
This right, known as the right of subrogation, can reduce the amount of money you receive in a settlement. The settlement will reimburse health care providers and health insurers for your treatment costs.
How Can a Lawyer Help With My Car Accident Medical Bills?
An attorney can help with your car accident–related medical bills by:
- Communicating with your healthcare providers and negotiating deferrals or liens
- Organizing and tracking your medical bills
- Working with treating providers to understand your future medical needs
- Identifying available insurance coverage
- Pursuing full compensation for medical expenses through a settlement or lawsuit
Contact Our Car Accident Attorneys in Indiana Today
Truitt Law Offices has over 40 years of experience representing accident victims in Fort Wayne and across Indiana. We have a proven record of success in accident claims. Although our past results cannot guarantee future success, our record and the over 100 five-star reviews we have received demonstrate our dedication to our clients. As one of our clients wrote in a review of our law firm:
“I highly recommend Truitt Law Office. Their team approach fostered a collaborative environment. Any time that I stopped in to inquire about updates, everyone knew exactly the status of my case. They were caring and kind. They truly cared about my well-being. It was nice to focus on my health and not have to worry about anything else. Thank you, Truitt!”
Contact us today for a free consultation with an Indiana car accident lawyer. Let us help you pursue the financial compensation you need for your accident-related medical expenses.
