Do I have to use my full settlement to pay my medical bills?

When a client receives a personal injury settlement, the medical bills are the responsibility of the client to repay.  The insurance company for the at-fault party will pay a global amount, including payment for past and future medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.  It then becomes the client’s obligation to use their settlement to pay medical bills, case expenses, and attorney’s fees.  

When a personal injury client meets me for an initial consultation, she has two main goals and one overriding fear.  First, she wants to get medical treatment for her injuries. Second, she wants to be personally compensated for her injuries.  The main fear is how she is going to pay for all of the medical treatment that she has already incurred or will incur as the case progresses.  It is my job as the personal injury lawyer to solve those important client needs, pay off all of the medical bills, and put a significant amount of money in her pocket at the end of the day.  If I don’t think that I can get her a significant amount of money and help her medically, then, quite simply, I won’t take the case.

While the client is responsible for paying the medical bills out of a personal injury settlement, it is my job to pay to get the best deal possible from all of the medical providers that are entitled to a portion of your personal injury settlement.  We negotiate with all of the local hospitals on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, to get the hospital bills reduced. We use the laws to our advantage to get these reductions. We also deal with your health insurance company if they have paid some of your medical bills and are entitled to repayment out of the settlement.  We also have a network of physicians, therapists, imaging centers, and chiropractors throughout El Paso to help you get the medical treatment you need. We work with these providers constantly to get favorable reductions at the end of your case so we put more money in your pocket.  

Also, it is my job as your attorney to make sure that all of the payments are made.  At the end of the case, we make sure that the bills are paid so that you don’t have to waste your time running around town paying all of these bills.

Let me give you an example of a typical car accident settlement breakdown

Say that you receive a car accident settlement of $30,000 (the minimum insurance policy limits for car accidents in Texas).  You went to the hospital, a chiropractor and received an MRI, and incurred $8,000.00 in medical expenses because of the wreck (that we got substantially reduced after negotiating with the providers).  The case expenses totaled $250.00 to get medical records and there is a fee of ⅓ or $10,000 per the contract. Out of the $30,000 settlement, you will be required to repay $18,250 for medical expenses, case expenses, and attorney’s fees.  That will leave you with a net of $11,750 in your pocket from the $30,000 settlement.