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Time and again, people contact us because their medical bills are not being paid by the wrongdoer’s insurance company after an automobile crash.  Why is that?

If you have been in a car crash and the other driver is at fault, that driver’s insurance company is required by law to pay all of the reasonable medical bills that were caused by its insured’s negligence.  The problem is that the wrongdoer’s insurance company customarily does not pay any of the medical  bills until the injured person has completed treatment and the claim has been settled.  This is because the insurance company will not pay until it has verified that all of the medical treatment stemmed from injuries sustained in the crash.  The insurance company also wants to make sure that the amount billed is reasonable under the circumstances.

Because of this, Miraldi & Barrett recommends that persons injured in car crashes submit their accident-related medical bills to their own health insurer.  Most people think this is unfair because the other driver was at fault and they believe that their health insurer should not have to pay for bills caused by someone else’s negligence.  However, the health insurance company routinely has a right to seek reimbursement for these payments from the wrongdoer and his insurance company.  Thus, the health insurer will eventually be reimbursed for these payments from the wrongdoer’s insurance company

If an injured person does not have health insurance, he or she may have medical payment coverage under their own automobile insurance policy.  If so, these bills are paid by the injured person’s own automobile insurance policy.  Just like a health insurer, an injured person’s own automobile insurance company has a right to be re-paid by the wrongdoer’s insurance company.  Again, at the conclusion of the case, the negligent party will be held responsible for the injured person’s medical bills.

 

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