hospital bill after personal injury accident

How to Get Compensation for Your Medical Bills After an Accident

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By Yosi Yahoudai
Founder and Managing Partner

If you got injured in an accident, you might dread going to the mailbox because of the growing stack of medical bills you might have for the treatment of your wounds. If someone else caused the accident, you have options for getting your medical bills paid by that person.

You can work with a Los Angeles personal injury attorney to hold the negligent party accountable for your losses. This blog will discuss how to get compensation for your medical bills after an accident.

Filing a Claim with the Negligent Party’s Insurance Company

California is an at-fault car accident state, which means that whoever causes a car accident must pay for the injuries and other losses that happen in the collision. This is why people are supposed to exchange insurance information at the scene of an accident. You can get the information from the police report if you did not get the details at the scene.

You could reach out directly to the other driver’s insurance company, but their claims adjuster will likely ask you to give a recorded statement, which could harm your insurance claim. Instead, you could call a lawyer, who will protect you from the insurance company’s tactics while pursuing a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company. 

Filing a Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Party

Depending on the severity of your injuries and several other factors, you might want to file a lawsuit against the party who caused the crash. In this situation, your recovery will not be limited to the amount of the defendant’s insurance policy. 

If your losses exceed the amount of the defendant’s liability coverage on their automobile policy, you could go after their personal assets or other insurance coverage, like an umbrella liability policy, after exhausting the car accident policy limits. 

What Happens If the Negligent Party Did Not Have Liability Insurance

It is against the law to operate a motor vehicle in the state of California without having liability coverage or some other form of financial responsibility, but many people break this law. If you find that the at-fault driver did not have insurance or only carried the minimum amount of liability coverage and your losses exceed their policy limits, you have options like the following: 

  • Your insurance policy’s medical payments coverage. If you have MedPay coverage on your own car insurance policy, you could file a claim for payment of your medical expenses, regardless of who caused the collision.
  • Uninsured or underinsured coverage under your automobile policy. Uninsured or underinsured coverage could help to pay some of your losses if the other driver did not carry the required amount of liability coverage or if their coverage was inadequate to pay all of your losses. 

Sometimes, your car insurance company will balk at the idea of paying your losses when you were not at fault in the collision. A lawyer could help to negotiate your claim against your insurance carrier. 

A California personal injury attorney could help you pursue a claim for monetary damages for your medical bills and other losses from the negligent party who caused your accident. We are happy to offer a free consultation with no obligation. Contact our office today.

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About the Author
Yosi Yahoudai is a founder and the managing partner of J&Y. His practice is comprised primarily of cases involving automobile and motorcycle accidents, but he also represents people in premises liability lawsuits, including suits alleging dangerous conditions of public property, third-party criminal conduct, and intentional torts. He also has expertise in cases involving product defects, dog bites, elder abuse, and sexual assault. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California and is admitted to practice in all California State Courts, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. If you have any questions about this article, you can contact Yosi by clicking here.