Medical bills in auto accident claim.......?

Question

Long story short, In an auto accident. Not at fault. I have hired an attorney. Today I found out that the handful of bills that the Third Party did pay was submitted to MY insurance company by the Third party to be reimbursed. And now, My insurance company is claiming that they paid these bills and put a lien on my settlement for the amount they paid. This doesn't make sense to me. I didn't submit any bills to my own insurance. I paid stuff out of pocket the first few trips to the doctor and since then every thing else has been sent to our health insurance. My Insurance company wasn't any help to us at all. I did all the leg work to get things done for repairs to my car. They haven't handled anything for me. I do NOT want to pay them a penny. I plan to talk to my attorney. I just wanted some sort of info ahead of time. Can they do this? And why would they reimburse the third party like that?

A bottom feeder lawyer?? Why would you say that? The accident was in 6/04, I didn't hire him until 1/06. He didn't know anything about it.

Answer 1

ok...so what you are saying is that your insurance company is going to take part of your settlement because they paid the other insurance company the amount of the bills that the other insurance company paid am I correct?

This don't sound right and your attorney should be able to handle this. For one...depending on the state you live in and the insurance laws in that state...your insurance company may be liable for medical bills to a point...and if that's the case...then they can go after the other person's insurance for reimbursement but they can't attatch to any settlement you make.

if the attorney you hired doesn't give you satisfactory answeres to this then fire him and get a new one...you can do this. There should not be any out of pocket expense to what so ever. As far as the "third party" Im not sure who you are referring to...the other persons insurance company or the other person...regardless...what you get out of any settlement is yours to keep...and any unpaid debts after the case is settled is your responsibilty

Answer 2

I think what Cowboy Bill is trying to say is that now that you have an attorney, you should leave handling that matter to him and not ask non-attorneys for legal advice here in this forum. Depending on where you live, this could be allowed. In most states, you have to file your medical bills through your own auto insurance. The at-fault person's insurance is not a bill paying insurance, it's not first party coverage, so you only get a settlement, not your bills paid. The problem is that the laws of the state can allow for your insurance carrier to be reimbursed through subrogation or a lien from the settlement.

That's about all I can tell you, except that you should discuss this with your attorney.

Answer 3

Did they bill your health insurance or your car insurance. I have heard of claims being denied by health insurance companies if you acquired any injuries in an auto accident and that the auto insurance is responsible for these payments. (not 100 percent sure about that). Call your insurance companies. Ask if they received a claim from the chiro. Also if the accident wasn't your fault and you got injuries then that person who is responsible should be paying. If they offered a settlement, take it, so you can pay your medical bills. Either that or get a lawyer to get you a higher settlement but if I were you I would settle for them paying the medical bills, because if you wait around too long, they'll send it to bill collectors and that'll be a whole other story.

Answer 4

You hired a bottom feeder lawyer -- you let him sort it out.

Answer 5

try http://ebay.com for manuals and http://google.com for websites about it :)