Medical bills after a Denver car accident

Most car accidents result in medical bills, even if it is just an emergency room or urgent care. Often car accidents in Denver, Colorado result in more medical bills for injury care. Your medical expenses may range from thousands of dollars to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. In catastrophic injury accidents, even more than a million dollars. It is easy for victims to worry about how to pay for medical bills after a car accident. At Front Range Injury Attorneys, our Denver car accident lawyers help clients resolve their medical bills.

You are initially responsible for your medical bills in Colorado

Colorado is a fault or tort law state, which means you are responsible for bearing the cost of your accident-related expenses until you settle with a negligent party’s insurance company or you win a personal injury lawsuit. In Colorado, the at-fault driver (often via his insurance company) is liable for your medical expenses if you are hurt in an automobile accident. However, based on how long your medical care takes, a settlement with the other driver’s insurance could take months or even years. Additionally, the majority of doctors and other healthcare professionals demand payment up front; otherwise, they risk sending you to collections.

Along the way you, or your car accident attorney, will access other payers or sources of money to pay for your medical bills until your case reaches an insurance settlement or verdict.

Health insurance

When that happens, your insurance kicks in. You should send your medical expenses to your health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid if you have one. You have the right to pursue the at-fault party and their insurance carrier for the full amount of the original undiscounted charge even though the bill is covered and discounted by health insurance. Therefore, even if your health insurance helps you by lowering your debt, it doesn’t help the at-fault motorist by decreasing the amount of money they must pay you in settlement.

Medical payments coverage (medpay)

You can also use this to pay for your medical expenses if your Colorado auto insurance policy includes “Medical Payment” coverage, or “Med Pay” for short. The best way to use these advantages is to pay for co-pays and annual deductibles—out-of-pocket expenses that health insurance does not cover.

Liens/letters of protection

Bills that are “on hold” and are paid from the settlement funds are referred to as liens. Usually, if someone is ready to wait that long to get paid, they won’t be willing to give the customer a sizable bill discount. This implies that extra money will need to be taken from your payout to cover the costs of the healthcare providers that have a “lien.” However, if you don’t have health insurance or Med Pay benefits, sometimes this is your only choice. In some states, a medical lien is referred to as a letter of protection.

Can my insurance company take a share of a personal injury verdict?

Yes, insurance companies frequently have a legal right to be compensated back for the expenses they have spent on behalf of auto accident victims. The insurance coverage often covers this right. The method of subrogation is used by insurance companies to pursue this payment from the victim’s personal injury claim.