How Do I Pay for My Medical Bills After a Car Accident?

If you are involved in a car accident, the first thing you must do is seek medical attention. Depending on the extent of your injuries, your medical expenses can start adding up directly from the scene of the accident (if you were taken to the hospital by ambulance). From there, treatment appointments mixed with potential time off work can make your astronomical medical bills almost impossible to cover yourself. 

As such, it is important to immediately hire an experienced accident attorney to help you get the full compensation possible to pay for these bills.

Who Pays My Medical Bills?

In most cases, accident victims pay for their medical bills through a combination of insurance benefits and out of pocket expenditures. Common sources of money to pay medical bills associated with an accident claim include:

• Private health insurance
• Government health insurance, such as Medicare, Medi-Cal, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• “Med Pay” auto insurance
•  “Medical lien basis”

It is important to note that if your medical bills are paid through health insurance, including government health insurance, that agency is entitled to be reimbursed for what they paid your health care providers. But they are only entitled to reimbursement if you eventually receive a personal injury settlement or a favorable court verdict against the defendant.

“Fault” v. “No Fault” States

If you get into a car accident in a state that does not have no-fault insurance, you will generally be responsible for paying your medical bills as they accumulate. However, if your policy includes a medical payment insurance coverage (known as “med pay” coverage), it will pay your bills up to your limits, which are generally less than $10,000.

If you are injured in a car accident in a “no fault” state, your own automobile insurer will pay some or all of your medical bills if you get into a car accident, regardless of who was at fault for the accident, up to the limits of your no-fault coverage.

Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney

If you or a loved has been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another party, you should discuss your legal options with an attorney as you may be entitled to compensation. The accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates advocate for their clients’ full financial recovery through hard work and an aggressive approach. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our attorneys, please call 949-727-9300.