Alejandro Figueroa | April 12, 2022 | Personal Injury
If you suffer a personal injury caused by someone’s negligence, you could amass significant medical bills. Your own health insurance may pay all or part of these expenses, but they will demand reimbursement. Suppose your own insurance limits prevent you from paying all of your medical bills. In that case, your healthcare provider (the hospital, for example) will demand the remaining amount from your personal injury compensation.
To enforce these demands, your health insurance company and your healthcare provider can both place medical liens on your personal injury claim. This means that a court will issue an order allowing your health insurance company and your healthcare provider to dip into your personal injury verdict or settlement before it even reaches your pocket to satisfy your medical debts.
Will My Compensation Be Enough to Pay My Medical Bills?
If you receive an adequate compensation amount, you should have plenty of money left, even after paying your insurance company, doctor, and lawyer.
In most cases, you can demand the following components of compensation:
- Medical expenses;
- Lost earnings (if you missed work because of your injury); and
- Pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering compensation could add up to far more than your compensation for medical bills and lost earnings combined. You might also qualify for other compensation, such as future medical bills, occupational disability, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of quality of life, etc. You might even qualify for punitive damages.
Example
Suppose you suffer a slip and fall accident in a department store. Your total medical expenses are $90,000. Your health insurance company pays the $50,000 coverage limit (ignoring co-pays and deductibles for the sake of simplicity). After your insurance company pays the hospital the $50,000, you still owe them $40,000 in medical bills. The hospital will assert a medical lien of $40,000.
Now suppose you win a verdict against the department store for $310,000 to cover medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. The court will take $50,000 to reimburse your health insurance provider, and it will take another $40,000 to reimburse the hospital. That will leave you with $220,000, out of which your lawyer will take their fee. The remainder goes into your pocket, assuming there is no other deduction such as comparative fault.
Unreasonably High Medical Expenses
Suppose that the hospital files a medical lien against you for medical expenses that are unreasonably high. You could face expenses that are over and above the amount your health insurance company paid the hospital. If your health insurance company has already paid out your policy limits, you could end up paying out of your verdict or settlement.
Fortunately, Florida law allows you to fight back. You can have a court reduce the dollar amount of your medical bills based on:
- Market factors such as rates charged for similar services by similar hospitals;
- The “usual and customary” rate that a hospital charges for its services; and
- The hospital’s internal cost structure.
A medical billing analyst can help you challenge unreasonably high medical expenses.
Skilled Legal Representation is a Necessity, Not a Luxury
The last thing you want to happen is for the hospital to place a lien on your compensation, only to discover that your medical bills far exceed the compensation you receive. If this happens to you, it means you received far less compensation than you deserve. This might happen if you represent yourself or your lawyer is incompetent. However, it might be too late to ask for more by then.
That is why you need a lawyer from the beginning. In case you are worried about the expense of a lawyer, rest at ease. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis and charge you nothing upfront. They will charge you a percentage of the amount of compensation you receive.
Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in Tampa, FL
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Tampa, FL, and need legal help, contact our Tampa personal injury lawyers at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.
Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers
Bank of America Plaza
101 E Kennedy Blvd #2400
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 222-8656
We also provide legal assistance throughout the Tampa Bay Area including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Bradenton.
