Posted On January 19, 2021 Personal Injury
If you have recently been injured in a Pennsylvania car accident, you may have many questions. Initially, your questions will likely focus on your injuries. Will I ever feel “normal” again? When can I leave the hospital? When can I go back to work?
Once you’ve started to heal, other questions start to creep into your mind. Perhaps the most common question is, “How am I going to pay all these medical bills?”
At the law firm of Console & Associates, our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers have over 25 years of experience helping accident victims recover financial compensation from the parties responsible for their injuries. We know that the weeks and months after an accident are an incredibly difficult time for you and your family, and we want to help ease your burdens. We can help make sure your medical bills get paid as we pursue a claim for compensation on your behalf.
If you were involved in a Pennsylvania car accident and another person was at fault, their insurance company should eventually cover all your medical expenses. However, the key words here are “eventually” and “should.” Read our blog to learn the process if the other driver doesn’t have insurance.
The other driver’s insurance company isn’t going to pay your doctor directly and will not allow you to submit claims for reimbursement. The insurance company must first agree to pay them, and that is not something that they will do without being convinced they have to.
Insurance companies are for-profit corporations. To keep the business going, they rely on collecting more money each month from policyholders than they pay out to accident victims. That being the case, insurance companies often try to take advantage of accident victims by approaching them at a time of desperation, offering to settle the case.
The offer of getting money now may seem tempting when you are facing increasing medical expenses. However, these initial settlement offers are rarely worth considering for most accident victims, and there are other options.
In an accident that occurs in Pennsylvania, a no-fault state, your own auto insurance company is typically the party immediately responsible for your medical bills. You receive benefits through the personal injury protection (PIP) portion of your insurance policy. Your auto insurer only covers medical expenses up to the PIP coverage limits you selected when you purchased the policy, and you will need to pay some of the costs through deductibles and copayments.
What if you’re not covered by any auto insurance policy? If you have private health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare, your health insurance policy should cover your medical costs. You just submit your medical bills to your insurer, and it will pay the bills. If the other party’s insurance company later agrees to pay your expenses (or is forced to through a Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit), your insurance company can then collect that money from the other party’s insurance company.
If you do not have health insurance or car insurance that will cover your injuries, you can reach out to Console & Associates for assistance. We can put you in touch with medical professionals who will get you the treatment you need and agree to wait to receive compensation until the case is settled. Of course, this may require lengthy settlement negotiations or even taking the case to trial.
The recovery process after an accident is not always straightforward. How do I know who is at fault? What if i’m partly at fault? However, it is essential that you understand how it works. If you have questions about how to you’re your medical bills paid, the lawyers at Console & Associates can help.
Every accident is different. However, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) keeps track of all accidents and makes their findings publicly available. According to the most recent data, about three million people are injured in car accidents each year. On average, the cost of an emergency room visit is roughly $3,300, and the cost of an in-patient hospital stay is approximately $57,000.
The CDC also provides an age-based estimate of the total cost of car accidents, measured by medical expenses and lost productivity:
While there may be no way to tell exactly how much your medical bills will be, chances are that they will be significant. At Console & Associates, we can help you cover the costs of your medical expenses and pursue a claim for recovery against the party responsible for your injuries.
Richard P. Console, Auto Accident Attorney in PA
If you have recently been injured in a car accident, give the Pennsylvania car accident lawyers at Console & Associates a call. Over the course of our law firm’s history, we have represented over 6,000 clients, recovering more than $100 million on their behalf.
We are available to discuss your case at your convenience. To learn more about how we can help you and your family through this challenging time, give us a call at 866-778-5500. You can also reach us through our online form.
