What if Someone Else Injures Me, can I seek Medical Treatment without Health Insurance?
You were walking across the street and had the right of way due to an illuminated walk sign. You were paying attention to your surroundings carefully, scanning the road for potential dangers, and generally doing everything you were supposed to be doing while crossing the road according to Florida law. A car approached the intersection going way too fast and its driver attempted to stop in time by nearly standing up on the brakes, but he was unable to completely bring the car to a stop before it crossed into the crosswalk and slammed into you, knocking you over. A bystander calls 911 and you have to be put into a stretcher by the EMT’s given you are in excruciating pain. After the ambulance took you away to the hospital, you are told when you wake up in a daze in a hospital bed that you have a fractured hip that needed emergency surgery requiring the insertion of a rod and multiple screws in your leg and multiple other injuries that will require months of outpatient physical therapy just to get you walking again. Your first thought is how am I going to pay for this medical treatment given I don’t have health insurance?
You may not have health insurance, but you were injured by someone else’s negligence. There are still medical providers that will treat you in these circumstances, even though you lack health insurance. These medical providers will agree to treat you pursuant to a letter of protection, an agreement between you and the provider that you are responsible for the charges associated with the treatment you received, but you are not required to pay immediately. Instead, the provider typically will be compensated once your case has settled or you have gone to trial and the jury finds in your favor and awards you damages for your injuries and the other compensation you are entitled to as a result of the accident.
Resolution of the Medical Liens from Your Post-Accident Medical Treatment
The liens that have accumulated for the post-accident medical treatment you received after your accident are dealt with after the resolution of your case, whether that comes through a settlement or after a trial with a jury verdict rendered in your favor. Once your case has been resolved, then your counsel will negotiate and pay off those liens as a part of the process of wrapping the case up and distributing the proceeds of that settlement to you. The amount that you end up taking home after a settlement or a jury verdict in your favor is determined once these liens have been paid off and your attorney has factored in the costs and expenses associated with your case as well as the percentage he or she will receive of the total settlement or verdict.
Does it Hurt My Case to Receive Treatment under a Letter of Protection?
Receiving medical treatment pursuant to a letter of protection is not necessarily a negative thing. It may be your only option, particularly if you do not have health insurance or any other means of paying for medical treatment needed for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. The defense at trial or even in the depositions of your treating physicians may try to suggest that your providers are giving testimony in your favor because they want to get paid for the treatment they provided to you. However, this attack is tone-deaf and likely will not resonate well with a jury given that it is the defendant’s conduct that caused your injuries in the first place.
Contact the Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A.
A motor vehicle accident or other scenario caused by someone else’s negligence can have devastating consequences for those involved. They often involve the need for serious medical care because of the person’s negligence. During our more than 200 years of combined practice, the experienced personal injury lawyers of our firm have represented thousands of victims of someone else’s negligence in Florida, including scenarios in which our clients were uninsured and received medical treatment for post-accident injuries. Although many attorneys may simply pay the full amount of the outstanding liens, at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, we will negotiate hard with your providers to reduce the liens you owe because of the medical care you received from injuries caused in an accident or by someone else’s negligence to ensure that you walk away with every penny you are entitled to. If you, a family member or a loved one has been injured by someone else’s negligence in Florida, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A today at 877-694-6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com for a free consultation today.