After suffering injuries in an accident in Macon, GA, you need a legal expert for medical debt to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve. Regardless of the type of accident, whether a car accident, premises liability accident, medical malpractice, nursing home accident, or product liability case, you may be entitled to medical expense reimbursement, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
However, it takes time to settle a case; sometimes, you may have to go to trial, which takes longer. You need a way to handle medical bills while waiting for a settlement or trial award.
Injuries You Might Sustain in Personal Injury Accidents
Your medical expenses depend on the type of injuries you suffer, and your injuries depend on the type of accident you were in. Injuries might be as minor as cuts and scratches or could be as severe as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. Catastrophic injuries can require long-term or permanent care, including occupational, psychological, physical, and cognitive therapies, long-term hospital or at-home nursing care, or even care at nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
Even minor to severe injuries could put you out of work for several weeks. Some injuries, such as muscular injuries and broken bones, could take up to eight weeks to heal – sometimes longer for the muscles to work well enough to return to work. Surgeries also take weeks to recover from.
You may also need prescriptions for the rest of your life, have to use ambulatory aids, and updates to your home to make it accessible. While the person whose negligence caused your injuries is responsible for these medical and other expenses, it may be some time before you receive a settlement or trial award. You’ll need a way to cover medical expenses until you receive compensation, but that isn’t easy since you are most likely out of work.
Use Your Insurance Policies
You can use your health insurance to cover most medical expenses. If your injuries were caused in a car accident, you can also use your auto insurance to cover medical expenses. Even with insurance, you will have deductibles and co-pays. When you have two insurance policies, one may cover what the other doesn’t.
If you recover compensation for your injuries and other damages, your settlement or trial award will reimburse your insurance companies.
At the time you receive a settlement or trial award, you may still be receiving medical care. It’s a guessing game to determine how much your expenses will be. However, experienced personal injury attorneys work with other professionals, including medical professionals, to determine an approximate cost for the type of care you are receiving and will receive in the future.
It is almost always enough to cover most medical expenses, including future medical expenses.
Filing a Claim with Your Insurance Company
After an accident, it is always better to have your accident injury lawyer file the insurance claims for you. Insurance companies do not like to pay claims when their client is negligent. When your attorney files a claim against the defendant’s insurance, he or she can also file claims on your insurance for medical expenses. At the time, your attorney can explain the circumstances and that you are in settlement negotiations or waiting for a trial. Your claim will go much smoother when you have an attorney backing you.
Tricks Insurance Companies Use
Because insurance companies lose money for every claim they pay, they will do anything to deny a claim or give you just enough to get you to go away. If this happens, your settlement won’t cover your medical expenses, and you’ll be on the hook for them.
A legal expert for medical debt knows the tricks insurance companies use and can prevent you from falling into the insurance companies’ traps. Some of the tricks they use include:
- Twisting what you say to place the blame for the accident on you instead of the negligent person.
- Delaying your claim until you get frustrated and stop calling.
- Agreeing that its client is at fault, then telling you that it can only pay a certain amount, which is rarely enough to cover minor medical expenses, never mind extensive medical expenses and other damages you may be entitled to.
Insurance companies have many other tricks, all of which experienced personal injury attorneys have seen or heard of, and are less likely to be caught up in the traps than the average layperson.
Negotiating with Medical Providers When You Can’t Afford Medical Expenses
You may have to negotiate with medical providers if you don’t have insurance or can’t afford deductibles and co-payments. This is also best left to your attorney – he or she can let your medical providers know that you are involved in settlement negotiations or waiting for a trial award.
In most cases, your attorney will draft a letter of credit promising reimbursement from your settlement or that you will start paying medical expenses if you lose your case.
Once your medical providers agree to wait for payments, they shouldn’t report you to the credit bureaus.
How to Get Help from a Personal Injury Lawyer
Before calling any personal injury attorney, research them online to ensure they handle cases like yours. For example, not all personal injury attorneys handle dog bites or slip-and-fall cases. You should also review attorneys’ reviews and, if they have them available, outcomes in cases like yours.
It does not cost you to retain a personal injury attorney. Most Macon, GA, firms handle claims on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay attorneys’ fees unless you win your case. Once you have a shorter list of three to four personal injury attorneys, schedule a free case evaluation with them, then you can choose the one you like best.
Your Rights as an Accident Victim
People injured because of another person’s or entity’s negligence have certain rights, including recovering damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other damages. A personal injury lawyer can explain your rights to you.
Macon, GA Deadlines to Take Legal Action
You have deadlines to file a claim after an accident. Different types of cases have different deadlines. You have deadlines with the insurance company, which can be quite short depending on the insurance company, and deadlines to take legal action, including starting settlement negotiations.
If you miss the deadlines, you could be barred from filing a claim and will not recover the compensation you deserve. Contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after you suffer injuries in an accident or medical malpractice case.
