Paying for Medical Treatment and Expenses after a Georgia Car Accident

By Grant Law Office on November 7, 2012

If you have been injured in a Georgia car accident, paying medical bills is probably the last thing on your mind. Getting the medical attention and treatment you need so you can return to normalcy is the only thing you should have to worry about. Unfortunately, all hospital visits can prove costly, and many injured victims of car accidents are sent substantial bills that they have no way of paying.

It is important to understand the basics of how hospital billing works. Hospitals bill patients the full cost of treatment, but they negotiate with insurance companies for reduced rates. Therefore, it is in the hospital’s best interest for a patient to pay the bill before insurance companies get involved. It is important not to pay a bill without first asking questions and speaking with your insurance provider.

In other cases, hospitals may say that they will assert a lien for the price of care from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. This option is fraught with issues and could result in a significant reduction in the amount of compensation the victim will receive from the accident.

A medical lien could also significantly increase the price of your treatment because there are no entities such as insurance companies that will intervene and investigate whether the hospital’s or doctor’s charges are justified. Accident victims would be well advised to use their own medical insurance or personal injury protection (PIP) coverage available through their auto insurance policy instead of opting for a medical lien.

Determining what bills to pay and what damages to include in a claim can be confusing. The skilled car crash lawyers in Atlanta at the Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., help injured car accident victims and their families obtain just compensation for their losses. Please contact us at (404) 995-3955 for a free consultation.