Paying the Medical Bills

Why Do I Have To Use My Own Health Insurance?

            When an accident is caused by someone else, people who have been injured often wonder why it is that they have to get their medical bills paid by their own health insurance when the other person is to blame.  Why, they ask, shouldn’t the person who is at fault, or that person’s insurance, pay for the medical bills?  Good question.

            The fact of the matter is that under our legal system there is no obligation for anyone to pay for someone else’s losses, including medical expenses, until there is some formal determination of fault, such as a judgment in court, or a voluntary agreement between the parties.  For this reason, even though it might be totally clear that the other party is liable, except in  rare instances, the insurance company for the defendant will refuse to pay medical bills as they are incurred.

            This means that in order to receive medical care and to pay these expenses as the services are rendered, the doctors and hospitals will look to the health insurance of the injured person.  In the long run, of course, the person at fault is responsible for these bills, but this obligation will be satisfied as a part of the ultimate settlement of the case where the injured party will be awarded a lump sum to cover pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and other expenses as well as medical bills for treatment and care necessitated by the accident.  Then, out of the lump sum settlement, the injured party’s health insurance company will be reimbursed for the amounts it has paid.

            Thus the party who caused the accident ends up paying for the medical expenses, but only in the long run and in a round-about way.

            If you have questions about the process for pursuing a personal injury claim, you should consider ordering our free book, Guide for the Prospective Injury Client, which you can get by using the form at http://www.lowrylaw.com/reports/the-big-secrets-about-maine-injury-claims-what-no-one-is-telling-you.cfm, or give us a call at 1-800-999-LEGAL (5342).