If you have been injured in an accident, Macon, GA you will need to consult a expert in medical debt in order to recover the compensation that you deserve. You may be entitled, regardless of the type accident you are involved in, to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and suffering and other damages.
It can take time to settle your case. Sometimes, you will have to go to court, which is even longer. While you wait for a trial or settlement award, you need to pay your medical bills.
What You Can Expect to Suffer in a Personal Injury Accident
The type of injury you sustain will determine your medical costs, and the accident type will determine the injuries you sustained. Injury can be minor, such as cuts or scratches, or severe like traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Catastrophic injury can require long-term care or permanent care. This may include occupational, psychological and physical therapies, at-home or hospital nursing care or nursing homes.
Minor to severe injuries can keep you off the job for weeks. It can take eight weeks for some injuries to heal, including broken bones and muscular injuries. Sometimes it takes longer to get the muscles working well enough to go back to work. It can take several weeks to recover after surgery.
It is possible that you will need to take prescriptions throughout your life. You may have to use ambulatory devices and make changes to your house to make it more accessible. It may take some time to receive a settlement award or trial award. The person who caused your injuries through negligence is responsible for all of these expenses. It will be difficult to pay for medical costs until you get compensation.
You can use your insurance policies
Your health insurance can cover the majority of medical costs. You can use your auto policy to pay for medical expenses if your injuries were the result of a car crash. You will still have to pay deductibles and copays even if you are insured. If you have two policies, the one that covers what the other does not may be different.
Your insurance companies will be reimbursed if you receive compensation for your injuries or other damages.
You may be receiving medical treatment at the time of your settlement or trial award. Calculating your future expenses is a guessing-game. experienced attorneys can work with medical professionals to estimate the cost of the care you receive and will continue to receive.
Most medical expenses including future expenses can be covered by the insurance.
How to File a Claim With Your Insurance Company
It is better to let your accident injury attorney file the insurance claim for you after an accident. Insurance companies are reluctant to pay out claims when the client is negligent. Your attorney can file a claim on your medical insurance when filing a claim with the defendant’s insurer. Your attorney can explain to the court the situation and let them know that you’re in the middle of settlement negotiations or awaiting a trial. When you have an experienced attorney on your side, you will be able to make a much more successful claim.
Insurance Companies Tricks
Insurance companies are losing money on every claim that they pay. They will do whatever it takes to deny your claim or to give you only enough to make you go away. In this case, the settlement will not cover your medical costs, so you are responsible for them.
Legal experts for medical debt know the tricks that insurance companies use. They can help you avoid falling into their traps. They use tricks such as:
- You can blame yourself for an accident by twisting your words.
- You can delay your claim by calling until you become frustrated and give up.
- Accepting that the client is at fault and then telling you it can only pay you a certain amount. This is usually not enough to cover even minor medical costs, let alone extensive medical costs or other damages that you may be entitled.
Insurance companies use many tricks. experienced attorneys are more likely to avoid these traps because they have been exposed.
Negotiating with medical providers when you can’t afford medical expenses
If you do not have health insurance, or cannot afford co-payments and deductibles, then you may need to negotiate with your medical providers. It is best to leave this up to your lawyer – they can inform your medical providers that you’re in negotiations for a settlement or are waiting for the verdict of a court trial.
Most often, your lawyer will write a letter of credits promising that your medical expenses will be paid if your case is lost or that your settlement will be reimbursed.
If your medical providers have agreed to wait until you pay, they should not report you to credit bureaus.
How to get help from a personal injury lawyer
Research any potential personal injury lawyer online before calling them to make sure they can handle your case. Not all personal injury lawyers handle cases involving dog bites and slip-and fall accidents. Review the reviews of attorneys and if available, their results in similar cases.
Retaining a personal injury lawyer is free. The majority of Macon, GA firms work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you won’t have to pay attorney’s fees until you win. Schedule a free consultation with three or four of your top choices. Then, you can decide which one is best for you.
What are your rights as an accident victim?
A person injured by the negligence of another has certain rights. These include recovering damages for medical expenses, lost earnings, future earning capacity loss, pain and discomfort, and more. Your rights can be explained to you by a personal injury attorney.
Macon, GA Deadlines for Legal Action
After an accident, you have a deadline to submit a claim. There are different deadlines for different types of cases. There are deadlines for filing a claim with your insurance company. These deadlines can vary depending on which insurance company you use. You also have deadlines for taking legal action and starting negotiations.
You could lose your right to compensation if you fail to meet the deadlines. As soon as you are injured in an accident, or if there is a medical malpractice claim, contact a personal injury lawyer.
The article How To Handle Medical Bills After Injury In Macon, GA first appeared on Attorney at Law Magazine.