When you suffer serious injuries in an accident, it doesn’t take long for the cost of the medical bills to start piling up. From ambulance transport to ongoing physical therapy as you recover from your injuries, those costs are expensive! When you suffer those injuries in an accident, who bears responsibility for paying for them?
Who Pays Your Costs?
After your accident, ultimately, you bear the final responsibility for paying for your medical bills–even if you did not cause the accident or someone else bears legal liability. While you can pursue compensation from the individual that caused your accident, including compensation for your medical bills, you will need to make arrangements with the hospital or your doctors to cover those costs while you wait for compensation. Most of the time, the hospital will work with you to help prevent you from receiving stacks of medical bills while you are tangled up in a personal injury lawsuit. In the meantime, consider these elements that can help provide coverage for your claim.
Your personal injury protection insurance.ย Minnesota is a no-fault state. That means that when you are injured in an auto accident, regardless of who caused the accident, your personal injury protection insurance will cover many of your medical expenses and even offer some protection for lost wages if you cannot return to work immediately after the accident. Most people carry $10,000 of personal injury protection coverage, so your personal injury protection insurance will cover that percentage of your bill, regardless of who caused the accident.
Your health insurance.ย When you go to the hospital after your accident, you will provide information about your health insurance to the staff there. They will file the claim with your health insurance when your personal injury protection insurance runs out, often significantly decreasing the amount of your bills. In some cases, your insurance company may pursue compensation from the individual or entity responsible for your injuries.
What Does Compensation Look Like After an Accident?
Because Minnesota is a no-fault state, generally, you will pursue additional compensation after your accident only if the costs of your injuries exceed the $10,000 maximum payout of your personal injury protection insurance. Generally, this occurs in the event of serious injuries: spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, or amputation, for example. Once you have exceeded the amount of your personal injury protection coverage, you can pursue compensation for:
Medical bills beyondย your $10,000 of coverage.ย This may include long-term hospitalization, surgeries, and physical therapy following your accident as well as follow-up visits to your doctor or ongoing skilled care.
Pain and suffering.ย Along with serious injuries, you may experience severe pain and suffering, including the loss of many things that once brought you joy in life. Pursuing compensation for pain and suffering can help you pay your medical bills and other expenses after your accident.
Lost wages or lost earning potential.ย Often, severe injuries will prevent you from working. Worse, you may suffer injuries that prevent you from ever returning to work in your former capacity. In this case, the insurance company will offer compensation for those lost wages and the lost potential to bring in income, allowing you a source of financial freedom while you get back on your feet.
If you suffered serious injuries in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, whether on the road, in a medical setting, or as a result of a premises liability accident,ย contact us. We will work with you to pursue the full compensation you deserve for your injuries, including payments for your medical bills.