Introduction
According to the latest statistical report from the Arizona Department of Transportation, there were close to 130 thousand accidents in the year 2018 which resulted in 1,010 deaths and 53,000 serious injuries. These daunting statistics indicate that almost 50% of all car accidents in Arizona will result in an injury to a driver and or their passengers and this means all Arizona drivers need to be properly prepared for and taken care of following a car accident.
It is important to take the time to rest and recover after a car accident, but your work, personal engagements, and bills do not magically stop following a car accident. Sadly, it seems these things tend to pile up after you’ve been injured in a car accident and working with insurance companies on your own often means you don’t receive everything you are entitled to.
If you have been involved in a car accident, you are not alone and veteran car accident attorney Jared Everton and his team are here to protect you and assist in recovering every dollar you deserve.
Who Pays for Medical Bills After a Car Accident?
If you were injured in a car accident and were not determined by the police to be the at-fault driver, then the driver who caused the accident is responsible for your medical bills. However, even though the driver who caused the accident and their insurance company are in charge of paying for the medical bills, they do not directly pay your doctor or your bills after each doctor visit.
Instead, the money used to pay for the medical bills will be awarded once a settlement has been reached with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and until that point, you and your insurance company will need to cover the costs yourselves. Even though it may seem like you are paying out of pocket for your medical bills after an accident, you will be reimbursed for all approved bills and in the end, you will not have to pay for them with your own money.
Some car insurance policies have “Medical Payment” coverage which you can use to reimburse yourself for any out-of-pocket costs that are not covered by your health insurance policy or to help pay deductibles and co-pays. Not all insurance policies have this coverage, so check with your car insurance provider before trying to submit bills to them.
Example Process of How Medical Bills are Taken Care of in a Car Accident Injury Case
- James is injured in an accident caused by someone else.
- After the accident, James is taken to the hospital in an ambulance where he stayed for three days. After he was released from the hospital he needed 2-months of intense physical therapy.
- James submits all of his bills to his health insurance company, and luckily all costs and procedures were covered under his health insurance.
- James’s personal injury lawyer prepares a settlement package that asks for compensation that fully compensates for all medical bills associated with the accident, lost wages due to time in the hospital, and attending physical therapy as well as compensation for pain and suffering.
- The insurance company will either accept the settlement or will argue it and this is when James’s experienced personal injury will protect his client and ensure he receives every dollar he deserves.
- The settlement is agreed on and the money is paid to James.
- James then uses the settlement money to pay for all of the medical bills and then keeps the remainder for himself.
Getting Legal Help
Following an accident, victims should be taking the necessary time to rest and recover from the physical and mental injuries they sustained, but insurance companies who are looking to settle with a low-ball offer often prevent victims from taking time off to properly recover. Then In addition to preventing victims from taking the time to properly recover, these low-ball settlements from insurance companies are inadequate and are not enough to cover all of the damages from the accident which leaves the victim in charge of paying for something that wasn’t their fault.
JacksonWhite Law’s Personal Injury Department is lead by veteran attorney Jared Everton. Jared and his team have been fighting low-ball offers from insurance companies and at-fault drivers for almost two decades and Jared and his team have been successfully obtaining the best settlements possible for his clients. If you have been involved in a car accident, Jared and his team are ready to fight for you and get you the proper settlement.
Call our Personal Injury team at (480) 467-4392 to discuss your case today.