Who pays medical bills from a car accident depends on several factors, including the insurance status of the involved drivers and the reason the accident happened.
In most states, auto insurers pay accident victims’ damages. However, a car accident victim can also sue a liable party for damages, including the cost of medical care.
As an injury victim, you should not have to worry about who pays for your medical bills. A car accident attorney in Richmond can evaluate all insurance policies, investigate the accident, and create a personalized plan for obtaining the compensation you deserve.
Insurance Companies Often Pay for Medical Bills from Car Accidents
Auto insurance carriers often have financial responsibility for accident-related medical bills.
Which insurance company pays for your bills may depend on:
- Insurance-specific fault laws in your state
- Who caused the accident
- Whether an at-fault motorist has adequate auto insurance coverage
- Whether insurance companies accept financial responsibility for the policies they have issued
Car accidents can cause tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic damages, which include medical costs. In cases of disabling injuries, the cost of treatment may even surpass seven figures. Insurance companies may try to avoid paying the compensation you deserve, and a lawyer will hold them accountable for their coverage.
Your Lawyer Will Overcome Challenges from Insurance Companies
In an ideal world, insurance companies will always honor their contracts and pay car accident victims fairly. We do not live in an ideal world, and auto insurers make securing fair compensation immensely challenging.
Your lawyer will respond appropriately to:
- Denial of your claim: Many car accident victims are shocked to receive a denial letter from one or more insurance companies. Your attorney will address any such denials, addressing the insurance company’s reason for refusing your claim.
- Any accusation that you caused the car accident: Car accident victims are sometimes unjustly blamed for their accident. If this happens during your claim, your attorney will provide all necessary evidence of fault to insurers.
- Lowball settlement offers: Insurance companies often get away with offering lowball settlements to car accident victims. Those who don’t have a lawyer may accept such settlements because they do not know any better. Your attorney will ensure a settlement offer is fair before they advise you to accept it.
- Delays: You should never have to wait unnecessarily for accident-related compensation. Your attorney will work to ensure there are no delays during the claims process.
Auto insurance providers are financial titans with teams of employees, investigators, and other resources on their side. If you choose not to have an experienced car accident lawyer lead your claim, you put yourself at a disadvantage against the insurance companies.
Suing Is Another Way to Seek Compensation for Medical Bills
Insurance claims do not always produce fair compensation for the accident victim.
The claims process may not end with a settlement because:
- The motorist who caused your accident is uninsured or underinsured
- Insurance companies claim you are at fault for the accident (and won’t change their position)
- Insurance companies dispute the financial value of your accident-related losses
- Insurers refuse to meet your lawyer’s settlement demands for any reason
Most car accident cases settle out of court. Car accident attorneys know that settling is the quickest way to deliver compensation to their clients. Insurance companies know that if they don’t settle, they may suffer a significant financial loss at trial. Therefore, your lawyer will exhaust all available resources to secure a fair settlement for you.
Types of Medical Services You May Need Compensation For After the Accident
Auto accidents can cause many injuries that require immediate medical attention. Often, accident victims need intensive, long-term treatment to address injuries and prevent worsening health outcomes.
Some common medical services required by car accident victims are:
- Ambulance or medevac transport
- Care in an emergency department
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Medical imaging (including X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans)
- Specialist visits
- Medications, antibiotics, and IV fluids
- Rehabilitation services
Those with disabling injuries may need in-home care, medical equipment, and other items and services that come at a high cost. Your lawyer and doctors will work together to document your injuries, detail your medical needs, and calculate the cost of medical services.
You May Also Need Mental Health Services After Your Accident
A significant number of auto accident victims suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other forms of pain and suffering.
Your lawyer will seek fair compensation for such pain and suffering, which may include:
- PTSD
- Pain from injuries (including chronic pain)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Difficulty sleeping
- Accident-related substance use issues
- Lost quality of life
If your injuries include any scarring or other forms of disfigurement, your attorney will seek fair compensation for the difficulty of such visible injuries. In addition to the cost of pain and suffering, your lawyer will seek compensation for any treatment you seek.
Other Damages That Often Result From Car Accidents
In addition to your medical bills and mental health service costs, you may experience other damages that require compensation. Such damages may include:
Professional Harm
Injured accident victims are often unable to work as usual.
A professional disruption may cause:
- Lost income
- Lost opportunities for performance bonuses and promotions
- Diminished earning capacity
- Psychological stress that accompanies professional uncertainty
In cases of disabling injuries, accident victims may be permanently unable to earn an income. Your lawyer will account for your current professional damages and the future toll of your accident-related damages.
Property Expenses
Property-related costs for a car accident victim may include:
- Vehicle repairs
- Replacement of a totaled vehicle
- Temporary transportation costs
- The cost of replacing your phone, clothing, accessories, and other items damaged during your car crash
Your property costs may escalate after a high-impact collision. Whatever those costs are, your lawyer will demand that liable parties cover them fairly.
The Cost of a Wrongful Death
Some car accident victims lose their lives, a tragic outcome that leaves survivors devastated.
In these cases, surviving loved ones may seek compensation for:
- Loss of spousal companionship (and any other non-economic damages that qualify as loss of consortium)
- Pain and suffering
- Grief counseling and other necessary treatments
- Loss of the decedent’s income
- Loss of the decedent’s household contributions and other valuable services
- Funeral expenses
Losing a loved one leaves a void that money can’t fill. However, a wrongful death lawsuit is a way to get justice and find financial relief after a fatal car accident.
A Lawyer May Ease Your Burden After a Car Accident
A lawyer’s services are valuable. However, you may find additional value in the peace of mind that hiring a lawyer provides.
Attorneys make their clients’ lives easier by:
- Providing guidance during an uncertain, confusing time: Your attorney will provide clear, actionable advice when you badly need the help. Attorneys have often navigated circumstances like yours, so they will operate from experience.
- Covering the cost of your car accident case: Car accident lawyers pay for expert services, filing fees, and all other case-related expenses. The attorney will recover their costs if they secure compensation for you. You pay no out-of-pocket expenses under any circumstance.
- Sparing you from the claims process: Dealing with insurance companies can be a headache. If you deal directly with insurers, you also risk mistakes that can compromise your financial recovery. Your lawyer will spare you from the high-risk claims process.
- Enabling you to file a lawsuit: Lawyers often file lawsuits on behalf of car accident victims. If insurance companies see you have a lawyer on the case, they may be motivated to settle fairly. Otherwise, insurers know your lawyer may pursue a lawsuit and take them to court.
- Updating you throughout the case: You must be informed and empowered regarding your case. Your attorney will be in frequent contact, so you are at ease with your case status.
You may already suffer from PTSD and other pain and suffering because of your car accident. You deserve all the support you can get, and a car accident lawyer may be a source of relief for you.
Exactly How a Car Accident Lawyer Will Help You
You know the value of a car accident lawyer, but you should also know exactly how they will fight for your settlement or verdict. Expect your attorney and their support team to:
Protect You Immediately
The first order of a law firm's business is to protect the car accident victim.
Your attorney will protect you by:
- Handling all communications with insurance companies
- Helping you make any recorded statements
- Advising you on what to do (and what not to do) after the accident
- Ensuring that they beat all case-related filing deadlines
Your lawyer should encourage you to contact them with any questions or concerns. Your legal team will be priceless support after your car accident.
Document Your Accident
Your lawyer and their investigators will secure all relevant evidence from your car accident, which may include:
- The police report
- Video footage of the collision
- Eyewitness testimony related to the collision
- Witness testimony about events that contributed to the accident (such as a manufacturer producing an unsafe vehicle or a bar overserving a drunk driver)
- An expert’s physical or digital reconstruction of the accident
- Your own account of the accident
Photographs of damaged vehicles can also be valuable to your case. Your lawyer will utilize all available evidence to establish fault for your accident.
Obtain Proof of Your Damages
Legal teams must show how their client suffered because of the liable parties’ negligence.
Your lawyer may show this using:
- Your account of pain and suffering
- Mental health experts’ documentation of your mental health struggles
- Doctors’ diagnoses of injuries
- Medical images and photographs of your injuries
- Employment records that help prove lost income, lost earning power, lost bonus opportunities, and other professional damages
- Invoices for vehicle repairs and other property-related damages
Your lawyer will secure as much expert testimony as possible about your damages. Experts’ opinions can add gravity to your case, as it will show your damages aren’t just your opinion—they are reality.
Set a Precise Settlement Goal (and Negotiate with Insurers)
Your attorney will calculate your economic and non-economic damages to set your case value. They will enter settlement negotiations knowing exactly how much compensation you deserve and insist that liable parties pay you that amount.
File a Lawsuit for You (if Necessary)
You and your lawyer may find that liable parties don’t intend to pay you fairly. You may need to file a lawsuit to cover a large financial gulf between your lawyer’s demands and the liable parties’ best offer.
Represent You in Court if Necessary
Even when a lawyer files a lawsuit, they can still negotiate a settlement with liable parties.
However, your lawsuit may end up in court, in which case your lawyer will:
- Guide you through any necessary deposition
- Exchange case materials with liable parties (a process called discovery)
- Question witnesses
- Present evidence and poke holes in the defendants’ evidence
- Handle every other step of the trial process, which can be challenging and ever-changing
As you seek a car accident lawyer to handle your case, consider the firm’s case results. If a law firm has a lengthy record of securing trial verdicts, this indicates the firm is capable of leading your case in court.
Can I Wait to Hire My Car Accident Attorney?
You should never wait to hire a car accident lawyer.
Once you research law firms serving your area and determine which one is the best fit, hire them as soon as possible because:
- They must gather accident-related evidence right away
- There may be a deadline for filing car accident claims and lawsuits in your state
Hand your case to your lawyer and focus on recovery. You likely face many demands related to your physical and psychological recovery, so let your lawyer worry about your claim or lawsuit.
A car accident attorney will assess your rights and provide immediate advice at no cost, giving you peace of mind with nothing to lose. Act today.
