Who Will Pay My Medical Bills In An Oregon Car Accident?

If you were in an Oregon car accident, you probably want to know who will pay for your medical bills. As your automobile accident lawyer will tell you, the first place to look to pay medical bills is your car insurance policy.

If the policy was issued in Oregon, it’s required to have PIP or personal injury protection coverage. This is a no-fault medical benefit that covers some of your medical expenses up to coverage limits. There also is a two-year limit from the date of the crash.

PIP is often enough to cover the first $5000 or $10,000 in medical bills if you pay for that much. However, there are car crashes with serious injuries where $5000 won’t even cover the first night in the hospital.

In this situation, your attorney may look to your personal healthcare plan to cover more expenses. The hospital may decide not to file with the healthcare plan. Instead, they will place a lien on the case.

This means that additional expenses will be paid out of your settlement or verdict amount. If that happens, your automobile accident lawyer will work with the hospital to negotiate a lower payment. A good attorney can often get a big discount on the billed amount.

If a car accident claim is resolved through settlement or trial, you will need to pay back the medical expenses that your insurers covered. That is because, in Oregon, you need to pay back insurance policies for any medical bills they paid.

Your attorney will work with the insurance companies to ensure they are paid what they’re owed from your settlement.

Also, your attorney can file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver and their insurance company if there are still medical bills to pay. You also can receive compensation for your pain and suffering and lost income.

Now that you know more about how medical bills are paid in an Oregon car accident, you should be more confident in the next steps if it ever happens to you.