What Are Medical Liens and How Do They Impact Your Settlement?
When you’ve suffered a serious injury caused by someone else’s negligence, like a car accident resulting from another driver’s negligence, the at-fault party is responsible for the injury victim’s damages, typically paid through their insurance. Often, the largest portion of the damages in a personal injury claim is the reimbursement for medical expenses related to the injury, but what happens to the amount once it’s offered as part of a settlement or court award for your damages?
Does that portion of the settlement come to you, and if so, how do medical liens affect the final amount of compensation that you recover? An experienced Oklahoma City personal injury attorney can help you understand your rights and ensure you receive the full compensation you deserve.
What Is a Medical Lien In an Oklahoma City Personal Injury Settlement?
After a serious car accident, slip-and-fall injury, or any injury caused by someone else’s careless, reckless, or wrongful actions, medical costs quickly escalate. Typical expenses begin with an emergency room bill, and sometimes include hospitalization, surgery, medications, follow-up appointments, and physical therapy.
Fortunately, most Oklahoma City personal injury victims have medical insurance that pays for the bulk of their medical care, leaving them responsible only for co-payments or a deductible. In some cases, an injury victim’s deductible could be substantial, but the largest portion of their medical expenses is billed to their insurance company.
Insurance companies exist to make profits, and they take measures to protect their profits, including placing medical liens against an injury victim’s settlement in an accident claim. A medical lien directs the portion of the settlement allocated for medical expenses to reimburse the insurance company, not the injury victim, since the insurance company paid the actual costs of the medical care.
Consulting with an Oklahoma City lawyer experienced in personal injury cases ensures these liens are handled correctly.
What Portion of a Personal Injury Settlement Goes to the Injury Victim?
Unless an injury victim pays out of pocket for their medical care after an injury, the largest portion of the amount they receive in a settlement goes toward the medical lien placed against the settlement by their insurance company, since the insurance company paid the actual costs. Depending on the circumstances of the injury, the personal injury victim could retain a portion of the settlement for medical expenses, including the following:
- The amount they paid out-of-pocket for a deductible or co-payments
- Out-of-pocket costs for over-the-counter medications, medical equipment, and home health assistance
- Travel expenses to see specialists
Although medical liens placed against a settlement by an insurance company are the most common types of liens, the hospital itself may place a lien against a settlement when it provides care for an injury victim who lacks insurance. Similarly, government entities such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Veterans Affairs (VA) may place liens for repayment against a settlement if they paid for an injury victim’s medical expenses after an accident.
A personal injury attorney in Oklahoma City can assist with negotiating or disputing liens to protect your settlement.
What Other Damages Are Recoverable In an Oklahoma City Personal Injury Settlement?
Learning that a substantial portion of your compensation goes to an insurance company or other entity with a lien against your settlement can feel disheartening. Fortunately, other damages are recoverable and rightfully belong to you. For example, you could recover compensation for your out-of-pocket expenses, lost earnings, future income loss, reduced earning ability (due to a disability caused by the injury), and compensation for pain and suffering.
In addition, catastrophic injury victims may be awarded compensation for permanent injuries such as loss of limb, disfigurement, loss of one of the senses, organ loss, or diminished quality of life. Although financial compensation doesn’t erase a catastrophic injury or pain and suffering, it relieves financial burdens and provides a sense of justice to the injury victim.
A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer can guide you through the legal process to obtain the maximum recovery possible. Call Dan Davis Law at (405) 930-4210 for guidance.