Maryland Personal Injury: Will I Have to Pay Back Bills Covered by My Health Insurance Company?
Yes. If you receive a settlement from the insurance company for the at-fault party or if you receive a judgment after filing a Maryland personal injury case, you will have to pay back any medical bills covered by your health insurance carrier. This is also true for any repair costs that have been paid for by your auto insurance company if the case is a Maryland auto accident and they paid for repairs to your vehicle. This is also true if your homeowner’s insurance carrier paid any bills related to health or damage to your personal property.
Note that this is common and should not be a concern. The repayment of insurance company coverage is generally handled by your experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer. This is one task that is routinely handled by Maryland personal injury Law Firms. It is a task that is begun relatively early in the process. Your personal injury attorney quickly contacts any of your insurance carriers for health, auto, or home. By the time any settlement is reached or a personal injury goes to trial, your personal injury lawyers know what bills/invoices have been paid by your insurance companies and know how much your insurance carriers are expecting to receive. These are generally called “insurance company liens.” The process is straightforward. For example, with a health insurance company, at some point after the medical bills have been paid, your health insurance company will send a letter to your lawyer that claims a “lien” against a settlement or judgment in the amount of the paid invoices. With your assistance, your lawyer will verify the amounts and, potentially, dispute charges or challenge whether those have actually been paid. At some point, the “lien” is finalized, and at that point, by Maryland statute, that lien must be paid from the settlement or from the judgment. The victim of the personal injury accident cannot receive any settlement funds or judgment monies until the lien is paid.
There is a similar procedure for medical bills that have NOT been paid at all (either by the person receiving the medical services or by an insurance company). If, for example, there are unpaid medical bills, then the hospital or medical care provider sends a letter to the injured victim’s lawyer asserting a “medical lien.” Again, there is a process of verification, and once finalized, the medical lien must be paid prior to the victim receiving money from the settlement or from a court judgment.
As noted, this is common, routine, and reasonable. Healthcare providers, insurance companies, and others have a right to be paid for their work or for invoices that they have covered. This is also “good” for those injured in accidents since, after receipt of the settlement/judgment monies, there are no bill collectors calling or writing demanding payment. The bills have been paid, and the remainder is “free and clear” for the injured party.
Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today
This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.
