Top 10 Legal Tips to Handle Accident Injury Medical Bills (in California)

If you’ve been in a road accident and are seeking compensation for your suffering, here are ten tips to help you better understand how medical bill payments work in such cases.

1. If the other party’s insurance company accepts that the driver was at fault, they will offer the accident victim a settlement amount that covers the cost of their medical treatment and other damages. Insurance companies do this to quickly settle the case and to avoid going to trial.
2. If a settlement is reached, it’s important to know that the insurer will reimburse the bills after they have been incurred, which means you’ll have to pay for your treatment on your own.
3. Such settlement offers often don’t take into account a number of treatment-related expenses paid out of pocket, such as cost of transport to and from the medical facility, cost of buying special clothing and equipment to aid recovery, and so forth. An experienced accident attorney can negotiate a better offer for you after taking into account all associated costs of your treatment.
4. If an out-of-court settlement doesn’t work out, you have the option to file an accident injury lawsuit and leave it to the court to determine how much the party at fault should pay to the plaintiff.
5. The court will fix responsibility of the accident, and the driver at fault (or their employer) will then need to pay all the medical costs to the injured party, as well as damages for loss of personal property (for instance, the plaintiff’s vehicle, cellphone, laptop or any other item lost or damaged in the collision).
6. If the court determines that the driver was only partially at fault, they will be liable to pay a portion of your medical and other bills, which is determined based on their contribution to causing the accident.
7. If you’ve been in a truck collision, having sound knowledge of the laws under which heavy-duty commercial vehicles operate will help your case. If you need a semi truck accident lawyer to help you in a personal injury claim, choose someone with exclusive experience representing truck accident survivors.
8. Aside from medical insurance, you can use Med Pay, workers’ compensation insurance, medical leave and lost wages coverage to pay for your treatment.
9. If you don’t have enough medical insurance or the above options don’t apply, your lawyer can help you obtain a medical lien, an agreement wherein the medical provider agrees not to send you medical bills in exchange for a share in your settlement or award money. Medical providers generally agree to this arrangement if your accident attorney can assure them that you have a strong case.
10. The greatest assistance you can offer your lawyer is by receiving proper medical treatment immediately after the accident and by saving all your medical records for use as evidence.

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