How Do I Pay Medical Bills During a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Attorney JD Smith | 888-981-0015 | Free Consult

It’s a common question for anyone struggling with medical expenses while waiting for their injury claim to be resolved: how do I pay medical bills during a personal injury lawsuit?

This Quick Question features JD Smith, a personal injury attorney in Seattle with the Law Office of JD Smith, PLLC. He has been a Super Lawyer from 2007 to 2019, and he was the recipient of the Professionalism Award from the Washington State Association of Justice. In this Quick Question, he explains how victims can cover their expenses while they wait for a personal injury lawsuit to conclude.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-0015 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Many insurance policies include MedPay or PIP coverage to protect the policyholder in the case of a personal injury.

Medial Pay (MedPay) and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) are two types of coverage often included in a person’s auto insurance policy. In many states, it is required to have some amount of MedPay and/or PIP although this requirement can often be waived. It should be noted that waiving this insurance is not recommended, as it can be invaluable to have if you find yourself injured with medical bills to pay. In fact, many personal injury lawyers recommend policyholders purchase as much PIP insurance as they can afford so they are as protected as possible in the case of an injury.

However, there is a minimum limit that your MedPay and/or PIP insurance will cover. In Washington State, this limit for PIP insurance is $10,000. This means that an injured person with the minimum limit of PIP can use the entirety of that money to pay their medical bills in the case of an injury. If the medical bills exceed $10,000, they can then turn to other means of paying for their medical care.

After your medical bills exceed your MedPay or PIP limit, you can turn to your health insurance or a possible lien to cover the additional costs.

If your medical bills exhaust your MedPay or PIP insurance, you can then turn to your healthcare insurance to begin applying that to the cost of your medical care. However, if your health insurance is insufficient or you don’t have health insurance at all, some healthcare providers will work on a lien basis, agreeing to continue treatment and wait for payment under the agreement that they will be paid at the end of your case.

The best way to protect yourself and your family in the case of a personal injury is to check your insurance policy as soon as possible and see what you’re covered for. Making changes to your insurance policy to ensure the best financial protection for you and your loved ones is highly recommended by personal injury attorneys across the board and could be as convenient as simply picking up the phone and calling your insurance company.

If you have sustained an injury and are wondering how to apply your insurance and/or pay your medical bills, contact a personal injury lawyer to learn more. Most of these lawyers work on contingency, so their help will come at no cost to you until they win your case.

To learn more, contact JD Smith directly by calling 888-981-0015 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Video Transcript:

Rob Rosenthal:

This is another Quick Question from AskTheLawyers.com. Do you wonder how your bills get paid, while your personal injury case is pending? We ask Seattle attorney JD Smith.

JD Smith:

Well, in Washington State, if you have auto insurance, embedded within that policy is something called Medical Medpay, or MedPay, and you're also given the option to have something called PIP, which is Personal Injury Protection and that's considered primary, so the minimum limit in our state for PIP, for example, is $10,000. That covers your medical bills. If you exhaust those limits, then you turn over to your healthcare insurance to pay the balance of your bills. And in some instances when persons do not have healthcare insurance, some providers will work on a lien basis with an agreement that they will be paid at the end of your case.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.