Following any type of accident that results in a person suffering serious injuries, medical care becomes an imperative concern for many reasons. Anybody who is having difficulty obtaining necessary medical treatment or who has concerns about paying for their care should be sure to contact an experienced Texas personal injury attorney.
The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there were 57.5 million visits to physician offices for injuries in the United States, and the CDC also reports that the economic cost of injury in 2019 was $4.2 trillion, which includes $327 billion in medical care alone. A National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) study found that the average medical cost of all fatal injuries was approximately $6,880 for emergency department-based and $41,570 for hospital-based patient care.
Healthcare Complications for Injury Victims
People who suffer injuries in accidents do not always have health insurance, and their lack of insurance can lead to numerous difficulties in obtaining necessary medical care. Some people can have trouble receiving treatment not because of any inability to pay costs or a lack of insurance but instead are dealing with healthcare providers who do not want to treat patients with injuries resulting from accidents that may be bound for litigation.
Such excuses are not valid reasons for refusing treatment, and any healthcare provider that might have a contract with the insurance company providing your health insurance will have an obligation to treat you in most circumstances. A skilled personal injury lawyer can be the difference in ensuring that you get the treatment you need and deserve.
Health insurance can often be prohibitively expensive, as well as complicated, so that many people can be uninsured for various parts of any given year. In such cases, it can be more difficult to get medical attention, but even patients who have health insurance may be unable to pay significant out-of-pocket expenses associated with their necessary care.
When you are struggling to pay your medical bills, it should not prevent you from receiving medical attention you need when you suffer injuries in accidents through no fault of your own. An attorney can again help because a healthcare provider may be willing to provide medical services based on an attorney’s lien letter or letter of protection.
A lawyer can write a letter to the healthcare provider and guarantee that any medical expenses will be repaid out of the patient’s portion of a personal injury settlement. Doing so will allow the patient to continue to receive treatment while the healthcare provider gets an assurance of repayment as soon as a settlement finalizes.
Furthermore, several health insurers will be willing to cover medical treatments. Upon learning of a potential personal injury settlement from another insurance company, however, they may demand to be reimbursed out of the settlement proceeds. A personal injury attorney will again be important because they can require a health insurance company to prove it is actually entitled to a reimbursement, as there are many instances in which it is not.
Even when reimbursement is allowed, the lawyer can still negotiate to get some reimbursement amounts reduced. Then you get to keep more money in your own pocket.
When the doctor treating you refers you to a specialist, orders further tests, prescribes medication, or requests that you undergo other kinds of treatment or medical interventions, it will be important to follow their orders. Doing so will be important not only for your own health but also helps to show the severity of your injuries to an insurance company because an insurer is likely to claim that your injuries are not severe when you do not attend follow-up appointments or other treatments your doctor prescribes.
After an injury stabilizes and seems unlikely to improve with any further treatment, your lawyer can have a better understanding of your future treatment needs and other damages you may experience even after a claim reaches resolution. You need to be aware that following many accidents, insurance companies will quickly reach out to victims and offer them lump-sum settlements.
You are under no obligation to accept these offers, and you should actually decline any initial settlement offer because it is likely to be much less than what you are actually entitled to since the insurer will have no idea what your future treatment needs are. Prematurely accepting a settlement means that you will waive your right to file a lawsuit in the future should your injury worsen and you become unable to pursue further compensation even when you still require more medical treatment.
It is important for all types of accident victims to consult with attorneys to ensure a proper medical treatment plan because many victims may not experience major symptoms until weeks or even months after the original dates of their accidents. When a person visits their doctor several weeks or months after the original date of an accident, an insurance company is likely to call this visit a gap in treatment and will use that gap as justification for devaluing an injury claim.
You should make sure to get in touch with a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible after an accident to make sure that you are getting the proper level of care you will need to recover and that your plan will satisfy the rigid standards of most insurance companies. Delays in seeking medical treatment can adversely impact your ability to take legal action in certain cases as insurance companies can claim the injuries are not definitively connected to accidents, and judges or juries can decide that the injuries are not as serious as you claim.
Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation With a Texas Personal Injury Attorney
If you or your loved one is having any kind of difficulty obtaining medical care for injuries stemming from an accident caused by another party’s negligence in Texas, you should be certain that you have legal representation for assistance navigating the complicated requirements involved in getting proper medical treatment. Mack Injury Attorneys understands the struggle people face in these instances and works hard to make sure that victims can get every single one of their appointments so they can take the steps necessary to reach a full recovery.
Our firm has office locations throughout Texas, including San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and McAllen. You may call us at 888-978-9302 or contact us online to take advantage of a free consultation so we can help explore all of your medical options and work to ensure that you can continue receiving treatment regardless of your financial situation.