Medical Bills Car Accident Settlement: Who Pays for it and How Is It Done?

By Brain Injury Law of Seattle

Medical bills car accident settlement - Calculator, stethoscope, and medicine bottles

Are you wondering who is responsible for paying your medical bills car accident settlements after getting into a car accident? Will the insurance cover it?

While seeking medical attention is your priority after suffering injuries in an accident, it is essential to know who is financially responsible.

What Happens to Your Medical Bills in a Car Accident?

While car accidents often result in injuries, the extent of these injuries varies greatly. After receiving treatment for your personal injury and the doctor reaffirms that you are okay, the next step for many is wondering what will happen with their medical expenses.

How do medical bills in car accident settlements work? Who pays my medical bills in a car accident? Why does the person who pays matter with regards to my insurance?

Negligence is the main factor determining what happens to your medical bills in a car accident. Negligence often proves that someone knowingly ignored the rules of the road, with that ignorance resulting in the accident and your injuries.

If you are in a fault state, the person at fault usually does Med Pay for your bills and insurance. If you’re not, the other party must clear your medical bills and additional costs.

Related Article

How to Treat Road Rash?
Dangers of Tanker Truck Accidents
The Zackery Lystedt Law

Who Pays Medical Bills in a Car Accident?

If you are involved in a car accident that you are not responsible for, the payment from your auto accident medical claim is calculated as paid damages. The party who caused the accident is not required to pay for your medical treatment.

However, they can instead pay you a lump sum to cover damages during your medical bills car accident settlement. This settlement comes typically from the health insurance provider, which pays for your medical expenses and coverage with Med Pay.

Unlike other accidents where the compensation is continuous for long-lasting or future medical complications, accident coverage payments only cover your medical treatment and bills. The related paid compensation is what you receive if you win your car accident medical claim, but nothing more.

Two things will determine how medical bills are paid after a car accident.

The State in Which You Are

If you reside in a no-fault state, your health insurance provider should pay for some or all your medical bills and offer Med Pay. In such states, the result of the settlement or the person at fault does not matter.

Here, the only thing that matters is that your insurance provider covers your bills up to your coverage’s limit. Should your bills be higher than the limit, you will need to clear the additional bills on your own.

If you are on Medicare on a health insurance program the state runs, they will pay your bills for you. However, if you do not have Medicare or health insurance, you will be responsible for paying medical bills after the car accident.

Being at Fault

If you reside in an at-fault state, the party at fault will pay for your medical bills if you win your claim. However, since this process is often long, your insurance will pay for everything, and then the other party’s insurance will reimburse you by paying your co-pays later. Should you be the one at fault, you will be responsible for any medical bills you and the other party incur.

Who Has the Liability for the Insurance Company?

The person with the liability for the insurance company can be confusing. Typically, the person at fault pays the medical bills. However, there are some scenarios where both drivers share the bills, or liability falls on a separate party.

For instance, if your vehicle’s airbags deploy unexpectedly while you’re driving, causing a crash, you can pass the fault to the manufacturer if the failure falls outside the realm of routine maintenance. You can sue the manufacturer for your medical bills if you can prove that they made a careless mistake when installing defective parts in your car.

Contact Brain Injury Law of Seattle for a Free Consultation!

At Brain Injury Law of Seattle, we are committed to providing our clients with the quality representation they need.

Our team of personal injury attorneys is here to help you get your life back on track following a brain injury. Our  brain injury lawyer have the legal and medical knowledge needed to understand what you are going through and can help you through this difficult time.

Brain Injury Law of Seattle is here for you, from educating you on your legal rights to guiding you through your medical bills of a car accident settlement.

Call Brain Injury Law of Seattle at 425-278-4383 to get your free quote today.