In a personal injury case, are medical lien holders entitled money if the settlement is awarded as pain/suffer
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at
12:51 pm
Are medical lien holders allowed to take the money that is awarded or settled as pain and suffering compensation in a personal injury case.
Tagged with: google • lien holders • money • pain and suffering • pain and suffering compensation • personal injury case • script type • text javascript
Filed under: New York Herniated Disc Lawyer
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Short answer to your question - yes. However, if you have a 1st party Uninsured/Underinsured motorist claim - depending on your state - some liens may not attach. Medicare/caid liens attach to everything. Another thing, there is some case law (in Texas) that suggests that if you have not been "made whole" through your settlement, lien holders may not be entitled to reimbursement (except medicare/caid). Check with a lawyer in your state to see if there is a similar case.
If they have a lien, the lien is usually a claim against any money you get and I would expect that would included pain and suffering damages. If they don’t have a lien but have say a letter of protection, it depends on what the LOP says.
"Personal injury" is injury to your person - libel, slander, defamation of character. So I think you mean "Bodily injury".
Yes, medical providers or lienholders can attach the judgement - or rather, to be more specific, if your health insurance company pays for medical bills, and you get a judgement - pain & suffering AND/OR medical, you owe them reimbursement of the money.
And you are DIRECTLY responsible for any medical bills you incurr - even if you go after someone else for "reimbursement" or "restitution".
It’s normal.
Your settlement is not just for pain and suffering. It is to settle all claims related to the injury. Unless your injury exceeds the policy limits, and you are in a few states, your medical lien will be included in the settlement. If the medical provider doesn’t put the insurer on notice of the lien, you will still owe them the money. And you won’t be able to file this under your medical coverage without them coming back after you for the money.
I hate to break the news to you, but people have been trying to do this for years. When the insurance company makes a settlement with you, it will include the medical bills, and liens will apply.