PAYBACK’S A PAIN (or something else)
The Top 5 People Who Want to Steal Your Personal Injury Settlement
What do I mean by “payback”? Unfortunately, when you settle your claim, you are only one of many who wants to get paid. To get any money out of your personal injury settlement, you will need prevent the following people from taking it all:
- “Over-chargers”: Most hospitals and many other medical providers inflate their bills, knowing that your health insurance is going to drastically reduce them before paying a miniscule amount. When they find out about your personal injury claim, they will try to collect the entirety of their outlandish charges from your settlement proceeds, even though health insurance already paid them. Our job is to limit or eliminate these reimbursements to get any money in your pocket.
- “Under-claimers”: Some hospitals and medical providers will intentionally refrain from billing your health insurance when they know you have been injured in a car accident. The pay from their lien on 3rd party auto insurance is much better than the sickly amount they would receive from most health insurance carriers. We must aggressively confirm that they are making the appropriate claim to your health insurance.
- “Over-reachers”: Most health insurance carriers want all the money which they paid for treatment of your accident injuries back, even though you pay premiums. It is our job to limit or eliminate these reimbursements whenever possible, so that you end up with more money in your pocket. Every dollar we don’t pay in reimbursements goes to you.
- “No-Chargers”: Many medical providers provide treatment with little or no out-of-pocket charges until settlement. However, when it comes time to settle, the insurance company will complain, and sometimes rightfully so, that the charges are inflated by thousands of dollars. Some, but not all, of these providers are inflating their bills, knowing that they will later need to reduce. It is our job to determine whether these charges are reasonable and to make sure you only pay a reasonable amount when you settle.
- “Off-Setters”: Sometimes, when you are making an uninsured or underinsured claim (the other driver had no insurance or not enough insurance) with your own carrier, they will try to reduce the amount they pay you by the amount of other payments they have made for other coverages, such as medical payments coverage (coverage to pay your medical bills regardless of who was at fault). In certain situations, such as when you obtain a policy limits settlement, they are not entitled to “offset” these payments and reduce payment to you. When I negotiate on claims for less than policy limits, I always make sure to confirm that the settlement will be “new money”, with no offsets. Sometimes, just to resolve the matter, the adjuster will not assert a legitimate set off for prior medical payments.
With insurance companies paying less, and more reimbursements to deal with, limiting what you pay out has become as important as maximizing what you receive. These are just some of the folks who will try to get their hands on your settlement money; You’re on your own with your relatives!😉
If you have any questions about the above or any other legal matter, please feel free to contact us at Samuels Law Group PLC by Phone: (480) 565-2000, Email: [email protected], or through our Website: SamuelsLawGroup.com.