Some accident victims pay little attention to the way their medical bills are mounting after an accident with injuries. It's easy to understand why since most patients can do little to control the cost of expensive medical procedures, diagnostic tests, and hospital stays. Another reason that medical costs are not on the mind of accident victims is that they assume they will be covered by either their own health insurance or by the at-fault driver's policy. Read on to find out why those assumptions may be incorrect and how a victim's medical expenses could turn out to one of the most important factors in their personal injury case.
Health and Auto Insurance Coverage
If you have health insurance, you are fortunate, but you should not have to use your own plan to pay for your accident medical costs. Not only does doing so mean you must pay any deductibles and co-pays out of your pocket, but your health insurer will turn around and sue you for any compensation you get from a personal injury settlement for what they paid out.
If the other driver is insured, they will pay the cost of the medical care you need from the ambulance ride to the hospital to the cost of most of your medical needs. Unfortunately, some accident victims have to deal with insurers who drag their feet and fail to pay the bills. When that happens, victims can be further hurt by medical collection agencies who go on to ruin their credit and harass them night and day for payment.
Another common problem with medical expenses is future medical costs. Most insurers won't cover you after you agree to a settlement. That means you need to speak to a personal injury lawyer about adding this damage category to the settlement. You might need more surgeries and physical therapy later on, and you don't want to miss out on this very valuable form of compensation.
Get the Care You Need
Mere money cannot cover the misery of dealing with the pain and discomfort of being injured. You will never get back that time you spent recuperating and missing out on spending time working to further your career or enjoying life with your family. While money won't help with any of that, you are, nevertheless, entitled to be paid for your pain and suffering and the money you get is closely connected to your medical expenses. While settlements are calculated in various ways, one way to determine your pain and suffering compensation is to multiply your medical expenses by a factor of up to five times or more. That means that the more that has to be spent to make you better, the more you could be paid for your pain and suffering.
To find out more about the importance of your medical expenses after a car accident to your personal injury damage claims, speak to a car accident lawyer in your area.
