A personal injury incident, such as a car, motorcycle, or truck accident, can expose your body to harm that can result in severe injury. It can require medical attention that your insurance may not cover fully, leaving you with insurmountable medical debt. Medical costs can encompass surgical, ambulatory, and pharmaceutical costs that you might not be able to afford out-of-pocket.
If your insurance coverage is insufficient, you can file a personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company to pursue compensation for medical bills. A personal injury lawyer can help you assess whether the at-fault party’s negligence or recklessness caused your medical costs and can negotiate a settlement with their insurance company. The experienced personal injury lawyers at The Russo Firm know how medical costs can cripple a victim financially and will use personalized legal counsel to put you in a position to recover compensation.
Medical Expenses Caused by Personal Injury Incidents
Severe injuries caused by personal injury incidents can lead to you requiring medical care, which can be expensive. For example, if you were in a distracted driving accident, you may have to go to the hospital to address a knee injury. Another person’s negligence in a car accident can lead to medical costs for treatment to help you recover from the debilitating injury.
Some people may assume this cost mostly encompasses surgery, but a victim can still incur tens of thousands of dollars in debt without surgical costs. Every part of your visit to a hospital can be expensed, including the services of ambulance personnel, the right to stay in the hospital overnight, and any medical devices required to heal your injuries.
The following are some of the medical expenses you could incur from a personal injury incident:
- Ambulatory costs
- Surgical costs
- Pharmaceutical costs
- Medical equipment
- Physical therapy
- Chiropractic care
- Private medical care
- Hospital radiology, physicians, and facilities
Severe Injuries That Can Result in Medical Bills
Any negligent action that breaches a duty of care, such as distracted driving, speeding, or drunk driving, can result in a severe injury that you will have to pay medical bills for. You will have to suffer from the stress of the high medical costs and the pain caused by the symptoms of the severe injury. The negligence of the at-fault party will have reduced your standard of living by putting you into a dire financial situation and affecting how your body functions daily.
The following are some of the severe injuries that can result in expensive medical bills:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Spinal cord injury
- Knee injury
- Chest injury
- Broken bones
- Facial injury
- Shoulder injury
- Back and neck injury
- Upper extremity injury
- Lower extremity injury
- Internal injury
Insurance May Not Cover the Full Cost of Your Medical Bills
Depending on what type of personal injury incident you were in, you may have insurance that can cover the cost of your medical bills. For example, some no-fault states require drivers to purchase personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, which can cover a percentage of medical bills. However, your insurance coverage may not apply to the type of incident you were in or cover the full cost of your injuries.
In that case, you could be left in the dark with expensive medical bills. This amount of debt can cause stress because you have to find a way to pay it, and it can negatively affect your credit. Medical debt can make it harder for you to rent an apartment, apply for a mortgage, or secure a personal loan.
Pursuing Compensation for Medical Bills
If your insurance does not cover the full cost of your medical bills, you can pursue full compensation through a personal injury claim. You can file the personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company, with the idea being to hold the at-fault party accountable for their negligent or intentionally reckless action that caused your severe injury and medical bills.
After filing the claim, you will enter a potentially lengthy claims process that involves collecting evidence, negotiating a settlement, and possibly going to court. You and your personal injury lawyer must assess the full cost of your damages by collecting medical bills you have already incurred and speaking to medical experts to see what medical bills may arise in the future.
Proving the At-Fault Party Caused Your Severe Injury and Medical Bills
Everybody owes others a duty of care, which is an acceptable standard of behavior to keep others safe. A person can breach that duty of care through negligent or intentionally harmful behavior, leading to their liability in a personal injury claim. For example, drivers on the road must have a clear mind, drive safely, and follow road rules. A drowsy driver may not have their full focus on the road and can cause a truck accident which they can be held liable for.
You cannot assume an insurance company or court will accept another party’s liability right away, which means you will have to prove they breached the duty of care and caused the personal injury incident that resulted in your severe injury and medical bills. That last part is important, as an insurance company may try to say that your medical bills were not a result of the incident if you had a pre-existing condition. You just collect evidence to prove each element of the personal injury claim, including medical records, police reports, witness statements, expert witness testimonies, photographic or video evidence, etc.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help You Recover Compensation for Medical Bills
While you can handle the claims process independently, your lack of personal injury claim experience could lead to an error that affects your ability to recover medical bills damages. Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer can relieve the stress of the claims process, as they will have all the knowledge and expertise necessary to handle the process correctly. They will know when certain steps need to be completed and what the best way is to handle them.
They can also help with settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Their insurer’s main goal will be to keep its profits up by denying, devaluing, or delaying your claim. They can use insurance adjusters to find information that can affect your ability to recover compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to combat these cutthroat attempts to limit your settlement and can put you in the best position to recover full compensation for your medical bills.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help in Seeking Compensation for Medical Bills
At The Russo Firm, our personal injury lawyers have seen victims crippled by medical debt over the course of decades of serving personal injury victims across the United States. We know the pain and stress caused by medical debt resting on an unassuming party’s shoulder just because another driver was distracted and caused an intersection accident. Our personal injury lawyers have experience representing clients with massive medical bills and a proven track record of earning fair compensation for the full cost of their damages. Whatever expense you incur, including property damage, lost wages, and disability costs, the experienced personal injury attorneys at The Russo Firm can help you earn fair compensation through personalized legal counsel.
We offer free consultations so personal injury victims can learn how our personal injury attorneys can help them seek compensation for medical bills. Contact The Russo Firm today for a free consultation at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
