Does Health Insurance Cover Car Accidents?
The issue of paying for your healthcare costs after an accident can be somewhat confusing. If another driver is at-fault for your accident, injuries, and property damage, they or their car insurance company have the responsibility to pay for your medical bills and other damages. However, reaching a settlement and recovering compensation from the at-fault party in your accident can potentially take months or even years. In the meantime, you will be responsible for your medical bills. In many cases, if you have private health insurance, your health insurance covers car accidents.
Recovering compensation from a negligent driver is not always straightforward, especially if your car accident is complicated, involved several vehicles, or there is a debate regarding fault and negligence. Tyroler Injury Law can potentially help you get the compensation deserve, whether this involves negotiating with insurance companies or initiating a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Call us now to learn more about your legal rights and ensure they remain protected at (651) 259-1113.
How Your Medical Bills Will Get Paid After an Accident
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the cost of medical care and other losses totaled more than $75 billion in the year 2017 alone. Although health insurance does cover car accident injuries, it will not cover any of your other damages such as your pain and suffering or any other non-economic losses. If you experienced a serious accident with significant injuries you should consider holding the negligent driver responsible for your damages.
However, even when another driver’s negligence caused your accident, you will first and foremost be responsible for your immediate healthcare costs. You should always submit your medical bills to your own health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. In some cases, depending on your individual car insurance policy, you may be able to recover reimbursement for some out-of-pocket costs from your car insurance policy which could potentially cover co-pays or health insurance deductibles.
Reasons To Submit Car Accident-Related Medical Bills to Your Health Insurance
The negligent party’s car insurance company will only pay you if and when there is a settlement regarding the car accident. This process can take a long time, depending on whether the insurer agrees to an out-of-court settlement or whether your case goes all the way to trial. Most hospitals or doctors, however, want to get paid within a relatively short time frame. Submitting medical bills to your health insurance can prevent you from having unpaid bills hanging over your head and potentially ruining your credit.
What Happens When You Receive Payment From the Negligent Party
If you submit your medical bills to your health insurance immediately, in many cases the insurance company will ask whether or not the bills related to any kind of an accident. Eventually, if the negligent party (or their insurance company) compensates you for your medical bills, they will generally reimburse the full amount of your medical bills.
In many cases, the amount you receive from the negligent party is more than what your private health insurance company paid for your medical bills. Victims often have the ability to keep the difference in compensation. Consider visiting with our experienced personal injury attorneys at Tyroler Injury Law to learn more about your legal rights and how much compensation you deserve for your car accident.
Out-of-Court Settlements
Most personal injury claims are resolved out of court, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). In some cases, the negligent party’s insurance company will approach a car accident victim to settle quickly. However, this is when individuals must be careful and investigate the offer thoroughly before committing to a settlement agreement. Generally, the insurance companies will attempt to pay as little as possible to victims of car accidents.
What may look like a good offer could turn out to be completely inadequate, especially if you may need future costly future medical treatments. Consider also that once you sign an agreement with an insurance company regarding a settlement, you typically lose the opportunity for legal recourse. Therefore, it can be in your best interest to discuss any settlement offers with a personal injury attorney who can assess your losses and determine whether the settlement is fair. If a settlement offer is too low, a personal injury attorney can negotiate for better terms on your behalf and, if the insurance company fails to provide adequate compensation, the personal injury attorney can take your claim to court.
Car Accident Personal Injury Lawsuit
If the negligent car driver’s insurance company is taking an unreasonable amount of time to provide you with full and fair compensation, and you are unable to recover your losses with an out-of-court settlement, you can potentially file a personal injury lawsuit. You could potentially seek the following damages as well as others:
- Medical bills and future medical bills
- Income loss and future income losses
- Physical therapy
- The cost of medical devices
- Costs for a rental car
- Awards for pain and suffering
- Awards for reduced life quality
You could also potentially recover additional damages, depending on the severity of your injuries and the circumstances of the accident.
A dedicated and experienced personal injury attorney can help you with all aspects of recovering your due from an at-fault driver, including calculating the full amount of compensation you deserve under the law. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering can be considerable, especially if you have suffered catastrophic injuries. Having an experienced attorney by your side, who knows how to calculate these more subjective damages, can be helpful for recovering the amount you deserve under the law.
Tyroler Injury Law Can Fight for Your Rights
Experiencing painful and costly injuries in a car accident that happened due to someone else’s negligence and recklessness can be frustrating. Even if your health insurance covers car accidents, you will most likely be responsible for any co-pays and deductibles as well as other incidentals that your health insurance will not cover. Those bills can mount up frighteningly quickly.
Tyroler Injury Law can analyze your car accident, damages, and help you get clear on your legal options. Having an experienced personal injury lawyer in your corner, fighting for the best possible outcome and the compensation you deserve can give you peace of mind. Contact Tyroler Injury Law today and speak to us free of charge: (651) 259-1113.
Attorney Isaac Tyroler
Attorney Isaac Tyroler has been a strong advocate for injured people his entire legal career. He has a passion for righting wrongs, and he deeply cares about representing injured clients who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about how to navigate the legal system. He is compassionate toward clients and aggressive with insurance companies and defendants. He is on the elected Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MAJ), the top personal injury lawyers’ group in Minnesota. And is currently the chair of MAJ’s legislative committee. [ Attorney Bio ]
