Lien placed by med. ins. co., attorney did not disclose; quick help?

Question

I was rearended in a car accident a little over 2 years ago. Complete fault of driver for a company. Apparently my attorney has not been acting in my best interest (not disclosing liens, fees, etc. when requested). I was to go to court next week for my case, however my attorney had got me to agree to settle; nothing finalized yet. Apparently my attorney has not mentioned that I owe several thousands of dollars for medical bills to my insurance company, this is after exhausting all 1st party benefits. We have discussed all fees, med. bills, etc. several times and I have asked for anything that I owe. He has known about the lien and has not made me aware of this until after I had agreed to settle my case. Is there anything that can be done to lower the amount with my ins. co. or this attorney? Should I go to court and ask for an extension rather than settling? I will need surgery, will I have to pay for this out of pocket if from accident? I'm in a bad way and could use any help. Help?

Answer 1

A couple of things you should consider talking to your attorney about prior to settling your case.
1) Is he taking a fee on the first party benefits? You are entitled to these benefits (PIP and/or MedPay) regardless of fault. It requires very little work to obtain these benefits and you'll find that most "good" attorneys won't take a fee for getting these benefits for you.
2) Has your attorney included your future medical treatment in the settlement? If your doctor has found that you are a surgical candidate within reasonable medical probability and it is related to the loss, then it should be considered.
3) Has your attorney attempted to reduce your medical lien? Depending on the size of your settlement, most lien holders will consider taking less than they are owed on the lien.
4) Has your attorney already communicated your willingness to settle your case to the insurance company? If he has and a settlement agreement is in place, have a tough time backing out of it.
5) Does your state allow insurance companies to consider only the bills you have actually incurred (the amount paid by healthcare providers) or do they have to consider the billed amount? This is important. Many venues have adopted laws requiring insurance companies to consider only the incurred amount.
6) What are the tort carrier's policy limits? If they are tendering their policy limits then that's all you can collect.
You had to have known that you were filing your medical expenses on your healthcare insurance. It is reasonable to assume that they would want to get paid back since you someone else was responsible. Most states require tort carriers to protect the interests of healthcare providers (usually hospitals) and healthcare insurance carriers. Good luck.

Answer 2

It sounds like your health insurance has paid your medical bills and has a lien against the settlement for what they paid. - and they should - they have the right to get paid back.

Usually a lien from a health insurance company is less than the total amount of the medical bills b/c the health insurance cuts the bills. So if your attorney has been talking with you about the medical bills - most likely that includes the lien.

From your settlement - you will have to pay 1. your medical bills/ medical liens, 2. attorney fees. The left over goes to you. In general, you will end up with about 1/3 of the settlement.

As far as if you should settle or not - that's for you and your attorney to discuss. You hired him and are paying him 1/3 of your settlement - so you should heed his advice. If he thinks it's a good settlement -then listen to him. He is the one who values claims on a regular basis and is familiar with how strong a case you have. It may be that you have an unrealistic expectation of what your claim is worth....ie..you see more dollar signs than a jury would give you.

Answer 3

Actually I feel like a gangster in a cowboy movie.

Answer 4

My friend, just settle and get on with your life. Stop blaming others.