You are involved in a car, truck or motorcycle accident and are injured. The crash is not your fault. The question becomes will the at-fault driver’s insurance company pay for your medical bills immediately? The answer is usually not.
When you are involved in a crash, the at-fault driver’s insurance company wants to pay the least amount of money possible. Further, it wants to pay all the money at one point. So the insurance company is not going to agree to pay your medical bills until you have completed your medical treatment and are ready to settle your injury claim. There are some exceptions, but those exceptions usually have the insurance company putting a cap on the total amount of money they will pay for your medical treatment. It is never wise to agree to this type of settlement as you do not know the extent of your injuries. You want to wait until your medical treatment is completed before you attempt to negotiate a settlement.
If your medical treatment goes on for an extended period of time, you will probably need to file a lawsuit so you do not lose out on your right to recover by failing to file your injury claim prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations. In Texas, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit to recover for your personal injuries. There are a few exceptions which shorten the time you must file an injury lawsuit.
Health Insurance
So how to you pay for your medical following a crash you did not cause? There are a couple ways. First, if you have health insurance, submit your medical bills to your health insurance carrier. Some health insurance carriers will deny those bills as they say the at-fault driver’s insurance company is responsible for the bill. But they are wrong. When your health insurance company pays your medical bills for injuries caused by another person, it has a subrogation interest in your ultimate recovery. That is, the insurance company has a right to recover from the at-fault driver the amounts it paid on your behalf for your medical treatment caused by the crash. But the insurance company should pay your medical bills until such time as your injury claim is resolved.
Deferment Agreement
If you do not have health insurance, another way to get your medical bills paid is if you hire us, we know medical providers who will agree to a deferment agreement, sometimes called a Letter of Protection. This means the medical provider will agree to treat you and defer collection of your medical bills until the case is resolved. You are still responsible for the medical bills, but the medical provider agrees to defer seeking payment until you have resolved your case.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash caused by another person, contact us to discuss your case and your different options on getting medical treatment.