Medical Bills After a Motor Vehicle Crash

After a motor vehicle crash, many people believe that the at-fault party‘s auto insurance company will immediately start paying for any required medical care. But this is not the case. In almost all situation, the victim of a motor vehicle crash is responsible for paying for his or her required medical care up front. Once you have received the medical care that you need, you can compile all of those bills and present that to the at-fault party’s automobile insurance company. The law then allows you to receive compensation for those medical bills, but only if the medical care is deemed necessary for your injuries and the bills are deemed reasonable. A Defendant’s automobile insurance company will not typically pay for medical bills “as you go.” This can sometimes be a major difficulty for victims of motor vehicle crashes. If an injured person has no medical insurance, it can be extremely difficult to find a way to access medical care. If the injured person has uninsured/underinsured automobile insurance, there is often a medical payments provision within that policy. This may allow the injured person to receive some medical care, but there is usually a limit to the amount of medical payments coverage available. When that is exhausted, then the injured person is once again in a situation of trying to access medical care but having no insurance to pay for it. This illustrates that having medical insurance is of the utmost importance if you are in a motor vehicle crash. If the at-fault party has an insurance policy, the contract is between the at-fault party and his or her insurance company. It is not a contract with the injured party. If the injured party has a contract of automobile insurance, that contract is between the injured party and his or her insurance company. Therefore, it is often in the injured party’s best interest to work through their own insurance company to assist with getting property damage repaired, to obtain a rental vehicle (if available through the contract), and to get initial medical bills paid in the absence of medical insurance. The interaction between medical insurance, underinsured motorist insurance, and liability insurance can be quite complicated. Our attorneys will be happy to discuss the best way to access medical care while maximizing the compensation you may be entitled to.