Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I had a car accident last month when the other driver ran a stop sign and hit me in the side. I went to the emergency room with my back hurting and was told I needed to follow up with a doctor for my back if I continued to hurt. I filled my prescriptions and waited it out but I am still hurting really bad and the insurance company for the person who hit me won’t pay for the treatment I need and I don’t have health insurance. What can I do?
Angela
Moulton, AL
A: Unfortunately, you cannot make her insurance company pay for medical expenses up front. However, there may be other options.
When a personal injury claimant does not have health insurance, they are presented with a catch-22: they cannot pay for the medical care they need until their case settles, but they cannot prove their case or get full value for it unless they get the treatment they need.
One solution is a letter of protection to a medical care provider. This is a letter from your attorney where your attorney agrees to pay for the necessary medical treatment directly out of any money you get by way of settlement or verdict.
Occasionally, we have had situations where we will obtain doctor’s testimony at our expense that explains the future costs of surgery or other necessary medical treatment and relates that treatment to the accident and injury. We then take that testimony before a jury and ask for an award of future medical expenses. After the jury verdict is paid, the client can then go get the surgery they need. This can easily take a year or two.
One strategy that Joel and I are currently using is that under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) insurance companies are required to pay for coverage for preexisting conditions. In certain cases that coverage is so affordable that our clients can pay for it. When an insurance company pays for treatment that results from an injury and there is a monetary recovery for that injury, the insurance company is then repaid.
One of the most common questions that I answer is how is money paid in a settlement or lawsuit. People often believe that medical treatment rights remain open after a settlement or that payments are made in separate amounts. Certainly in on the job injury cases medical treatment rights can stay open after settlement. In other cases, once the case is settled, the case is over and the settlement or jury verdict is for a set amount. Out of that set amount, the attorneys are paid, the expenses of litigation are paid, and medical expenses are repaid. The money for pain and suffering is tax free to the injured person.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-349-2529
