The Personal Injury Claim Settlement Process
When another driver’s negligence leaves you injured and struggling with medical bills, filing a personal injury claim can help you ease the financial burden. But filing and settling a claim isn’t instantaneous. You might have to go through several rounds of back and forth with an insurance company, or even escalate your claim to court.
While all that’s taking place: Who pays for medical bills after a car accident, and how can you make ends meet before your personal injury claim payouts? We’ll go over the basic process below, courtesy of a Rhode Island personal injury lawyer.
How Does A Personal Injury Claim Work in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island is an at-fault state, meaning that the person who is primarily responsible, or negligent, must pay for the damages caused by their actions.
Rather than the at-fault person paying directly out-of-pocket, their liability policy from their car insurance company usually covers medical expenses.
If they don’t have insurance, or don’t have a policy that covers the full cost of your medical bills, you can also file a claim with your own uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage.
Do Insurance Companies Pay Medical Bills Directly?
Generally, no. Because a personal injury claim payout can arrive months after your hospital stay or doctor’s office visits, any settlement money will be applied to your bills retroactively. Instead, your personal health insurance typically covers the costs upfront, and your health insurance company may seek reimbursement from your settlement offer.
Here’s an example of how that might look in practice:
- Your medical bills from a car accident total $10,000.
- While you’re filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, your personal health insurance pays the hospital, but places a lien on any future settlement related to your injury expenses.
- After a few rounds of negotiations with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, you agree on a settlement that covers the cost of your medical bills, plus pain and suffering, and your attorney’s fees.
- Your personal injury lawyer deposits the settlement check into a trust bank account.
- After your lawyer deducts their fee, your health insurance company recovers the funds they paid.
- You can withdraw any funds leftover.
Other Ways to Pay for Your Personal Injury Claim Expenses
What if you don’t have health insurance, or your health insurance won’t cover your hospital stay? You may still have options to cover the costs of your treatment without paying out-of-pocket.
- MedPay: In Rhseode Island, MedPay is optional car insurance for medical expenses. It’s very common to use a personal MedPay policy to pay for your medical bills immediately, while waiting for a claim from the at-fault insurance company to settle. The MedPay insurer can later request reimbursement from your settlement.
- Lien agreement: In Rhode Island, hospitals are allowed to place liens directly on patients. This allows you to receive treatment, while the hospital waits for payment after your claim settles.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: If the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, or doesn’t have a policy that covers your bills, you may be able to submit your medical bills to your personal UIM insurance policy.
Who Pays Personal Injury Court Judgements?
If the at-fault person has liability insurance, the insurance company should cover the expenses from a court-ordered settlement, just as they would in an out-of-court agreement reached through negotiations.
If the at-fault person’s policy doesn’t cover the full extent of the settlement, then the insurance company pays up to the policy limit, while the individual is responsible for paying the remainder out-of-pocket.
Do I pay taxes on personal injury settlement money?
No. The IRS doesn’t consider personal injury damages taxable income.
Funds received from mental and emotional distress (pain and suffering damages) must be directly related to your personal injuries to be non-taxable.
How Long Does It Take to Get Paid From A Personal Injury Lawsuit?
That depends on how complex your case is – and if the at-fault driver’s insurance company is willing to play fair.
Simple claims without much negotiation can be resolved in a few short weeks. But if the insurance company submits lowball offers or outright denies your claim, then it may take several months to reach an out-of-court settlement. If you need to escalate the claim to civil court, it could even take over a year for the claim to settle.
That can feel overwhelming when you need relief from your medical bills right away. Insurance companies know this, and they’re willing to play the long game to pressure you into settling. But don’t let them pressure you into settling for any less than the full extent of the policy!
A Rhode Island Car Accident Lawyer for Personal Injury Settlements
At Petrarca Law, we understand how stressful it can feel when you have medical bills piling up, with no personal injury settlement in sight. You can easily feel overwhelmed when it’s just you up against a large-scale insurance company. But we don’t back down from challenges.
We’ll stand up for you and your rights, advocating for you from the very beginning of our working relationship. We can handle every aspect of filing a claim and negotiating with the insurance company for you, and can advise on flexible ways to handle your medical bills while you’re waiting for a settlement.
Let us get you a fair personal injury settlement offer that covers your medical expenses while you focus on healing. Contact us today for a free consultation of your case.