When most people think of car accident injuries and lawsuits, they imagine a scenario where someone gets severely injured, paralyzed, or otherwise has their life changed as a result of the accident. In these scenarios, the medical bills and other associated rehabilitation costs can stack up fast. But for relatively minor accidents and injuries, the costs can still quickly get out of control, and it is often more than most people expect. Depending on your condition and severity of injuries, you may be whisked off to a hospital for expensive x-rays, tests, and therapy sessions before anyone consults you or inquires about your financial situation. Even if you end up compensated, how are these bills being paid in the meantime?
Insurance Payouts Following An Accident
Florida is a no-fault state, meaning your own insurance provider will pay you money up to the limit determined by your level of coverage. This Personal Injury Protection is usually set at $10,000 and will be paid to help cover reasonable medical bills along with lost wages resulting from your injury. These lost wages can take the form of time you had to take off from work while in recovery or as compensation for injuries that now preclude you from doing the work you previously did.
Often, and especially for serious accidents, the amount of money your insurance provider offers is nowhere near enough to sufficiently pay off medical debts and bills incurred by your use of emergency services. This can leave you in a tough spot, as while you may deserve compensation from the driver who caused the accident, payouts from taking a case to court or settling with the other party can be months or years away. Because of this, getting into contact with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible is always recommended. Not only can this help you receive money in a timely fashion to pay off bills, but it is also essential to winning your lawsuit by gathering evidence and starting your case off early.
Additional Ways To Pay Medical Bills Before A Settlement
Unfortunately, the process can be so complex and arduous that the money you desperately need is kept from you for an extended period of time. Also, because of how negotiations with insurance companies work, rejecting the initial settlement offer is often prudent, even if this lowball offer would help in the short term. Talking with your local attorney is a great way to leverage their expertise and find ways in your area that other injured parties awaiting a settlement have dealt with lingering bills.
If your health insurance is not helpful in covering some or all of your outstanding bills, negotiating directly with the healthcare provider is a possible avenue to explore. Low-cost medical payment plans or a pause on your payments may be possible if you and your attorney are confident in your case and the payout you will receive. While not ideal, friends and family are often more than willing to help when you go through a rough patch in your life. Because of the extensive experience of our attorneys and our contingency fee, we are confident when we take on your case that we will succeed in getting compensation for your injuries and damages. Despite the short-term challenges, you can be confident that the bills will one day be paid off and simply a thing of the past.
Call the personal injury attorneys at Probinsky & Cole if you have been injured in an auto accident. Our years of experience make us the perfect candidates for dealing with insurance companies and fighting for what you deserve.
