Many people come to the office with the assumption that the at-fault drivers’ car insurance is going to pay their hospital or doctor bills directly after an accident. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. Your medical bills are your responsibility and regardless of the reason for your medical bills, doctors provided service to you, and therefore you are responsible. The medical providers do not want to wait for your legal case to resolve before they are paid. The at-fault driver’s car insurance company will not pay your bills as your incur them for a number of reasons:
They won’t make payments in advance of a personal injury settlement or a jury verdict in your favor.
They are under a duty to pay you only when the at-fault driver is found liable for the car accident. This means trial (unless settlement is reached before trial)
Your financial struggles work to the insurance company’s benefit. Many people have settled a car accident case far below actual value because they need money sooner rather than later.
Also, regardless of when the insurance company pays you for your damages, they do not pay the medical providers directly. If the insurance company decides to settle or if you get a verdict at trial, you get one check for all of your damages. It is up to you to pay those medical bills from the settlement or verdict.
Sometimes, in minor cases, the insurance company may offer to pay your medical providers directly. Most of the time this promise is never fulfilled. If they do send payment directly, you are still losing out if you have health insurance. You should file your medical bills with your health insurance and then deal with your health insurance if they want to be reimbursed. Your health insurance has a contract with your medical provider to pay them less than they charge you. You lose this benefit if the car insurance pays the medical provider directly. This could mean you lose out on a lot of money that would otherwise be yours.
If you have questions about car accident, please contact Venus Poe today at 864-963-0310 click here to fill out an online case evaluation form. We have offices in Greenville, South Carolina and Fountain Inn, South Carolina to better serve you. Knowing all of your rights is imperative to make sure you are fully compensated after an accident. There is no obligation or charge for our initial consultation to see if we can help you with your accident case.
The information you obtain in this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.You should not read this article to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction in which you may have a case.