Ensuring that personal injury medical bills are covered is a large part of this process, which often includes securing funds to cover both past treatment and future procedures doctors anticipate will be necessary to correct, rehabilitate, or control the injury. Many personal injury suits are settled before or during trial, once the insurance company decides settling is better than further dispute. A common question accident victims have is, “Do I have to pay medical bills from my settlement?” Understanding who is ultimately responsible for paying personal injury medical expenses, the victim or the at-fault party, is key to knowing how much compensation the victim will receive to rebuild his or her life.
Sustaining a serious or life-threatening injury because of another person’s negligence is a hard pill to swallow. Most accidents are the result of slip-and-falls in a store or involvement in an automobile collision. Receiving the necessary medical treatment to regain health and functionality after such an event is, of course, the first priority. However, anyone who has experienced a serious or catastrophic medical emergency knows that medical care is expensive and can easily overwhelm the finances of many injury victims. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is the most effective way to hold the responsible party accountable for the harm he or she caused, and collecting compensation is the primary way injured parties are made whole in the legal system.
Paying Medical Expenses Out of a Settlement
Personal injury medical expenses are just one component of economic damages, which refers to types of harm that are quantifiable, such as medical bills, lost wages, and additional out-of-pocket losses related to an accident. Medical bills are often one of the largest damages, so paying this amount out of a settlement is going to reduce the money available to the victim and his or her family to use for recovery. The only other type of damage, pain and suffering, which is non-economic because is cannot be firmly quantified, is capped at $380,000, and is not necessarily easy to prove. Thus, injury victims in many cases will be limited to economic damages.
Canadian law requires most personal injury settlements paid through an insurance company to automatically reimburse the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for medical treatment received as the result of the negligence of another. This concept is called subrogation, and effectively puts a personal injury lien on all settlements paid by insurance companies to settle accident claims. Private insurers also enjoy this right under national and local law and will seek to enforce a claim if a personal injury settlement is reached.
Paying Medical Bills After a Car Accident
Responsibility for medical bills following a car accident, however, are not assignable to a negligent party under Ontario law. Instead, all insurance policies issued in the province are no-fault based, which means regardless of who caused the accident, each driver should look to his or her own insurance company to recover compensation and payment of expenses. This law allows insured drivers to receive benefits coverage for medical and rehabilitation expenses for reasonable and necessary medical expenses not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Non-catastrophic injuries may be covered up to $65,000, while catastrophic accidents will receive benefits up to $1,000,000. Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer on the application of the appropriate laws is the most effective method of ensuring one’s rights are fully protected.
Seek Legal Advice
Negotiating a settlement in a personal injury lawsuit is a complicated endeavor that is made more overwhelming by the resources and weight insurance companies can exert to delay. An experienced personal injury lawyer will not be intimidated by tactics used by insurance companies and will fully understand your rights of recovery for your injury. To learn the strength of your negligence claim and what you can expect to recover, contact a lawyer as soon as possible. Quick action is needed to keep evidence fresh and available, as well as to get you the money you need quickly.
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