Insurance Question.?

Question

I was in an accident. My car was totalled and the accident was not my fault. I was injured and hired an attorney. I went to the chiropractor and incurred a medical bill of 2000. But after one year my attorney was not able to settle the case and he dropped the case or kind of fired me. Now the insurance company (of the guy who was at fault) is offering me 800. But I still have medical bills of 1500 pending. So I am not getting anything beside the 800 from the other party while my insurance is not going to cover any of the costs because I had a 1000 deductible on my policy.

So in such a case who is going to pay the medical bills. Is it me.

Answer 1

OK, first off you should still be able to file the claim under your policy for the medical.  then your company can subrogate for repayment from the other parties insurance.  you should talk to the adjuster and let him know 800 is not acceptable since your medical bills are over that amt.  his insurance should be paying for your car, AND medical bills.  if they refuse to pay in total, ask him why...there must be a reason.  if you cannot get them to satisfy the bills, then you need to find an anty to help you.  there has to be a reason your 1st atny couldn't get it settled and quit working on it.

Answer 2

Either Chris M or Queen B's answers are good ones. Especially Queen B. Lawyers should not be your first choice when you have an insurance claim. first work with the companies yourself and get an offer. At least that way when and if you get a lawyer and they try to get you a settlement you know how much value they brought to your case. This lawyer may not feel the case is large enough form him/her to make money on. If you have documentable medical bills I'd follow Queen B's advice. It could be that the other company does not believe you were hurt. Insurance companies don't want claims to escalate so you want to show them you are just looking to get your bills paid. Insurance companies, (full discloser, I work for an insurance company), are in business to pay claims. They just don't want to pay amounts that are excessive, fraudulent etc. no more than you would want to. So approach them with the facts, let them know you are ready to escalate but would like to just get your bills paid.

Answer 3

Yes, well, what was the HOSPITAL bill and the MEDICAL doctor bill?  See, in many states, if all your medical bills are chiro only, for hte most part, they are discounted.  It's very, very easy to wrack up huge medical bills going for "adjustments" two or three times a week, when you only have soft tissue injuries which will eventually resolve on their own, anyway.

Yes, it will likely be YOU paying your medical bills - you chose to use the chiro.

Your lawyer dropped your case, because you don't have much of one, and they decided they can't make enough off of it to cover their time.

Answer 4

I would get the contact info for the adjuster for his insurance carrier that is handling the case.  Don't talk to his agent as since he has no pull.  Demand from the adjuster that you want to be paid in full for the 2000.00 medical bills.  If they say no, inform them that you intend to take their client to small claims court personally.  Inform them that the time and money that will be spent by them on their legal side just to answer the case call will be more that what you are requesting to be compensated.  Did they cover the market value for your car?

Answer 5

Check your policy on how much will your insurance company will cover medical expense and are those expense relate to your injury.

Answer 6

Sorry, but you just learned the hard way how most injury lawyers work. Who picked the chiropractor? You or the lawyer?

You incurred the medical bills so legally your stuck paying any balance after the settlement.

So many people over treat with chiropractors then get upset when the insurance company makes an offer like you got. Lawyers suck injured people in by letting you think you will get big bucks even when you have no injury or a minor injury. Then when the insurance company calls the lawyers bluff the lawyer bails because they now have a case where they would have to sue and HOPE they win enough $ to cover your med bills and then put a few bucks in their pocket and yours.

If they lawyer dropped you then you must have a minor injury or a weak case. Injury lawyers don't like to work very hard for their money. They just want as many claims as possible that they can settle within a year. That's my lecture for the morning.

Here is what you need to do from here.

1. Check with the Chiro's office and see if they will reduce their bill to help you out.    

2. If you had auto insurance check with your company to see if you had either Med Pay or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. These coverages usually do not have a deductible. They will only pay reasonable accident related medical bills, so they might not pay all your bills if you were over treated by the chiro.

3. Try to settle the claim with the other insurance company on your own, without a lawyer taking 33%, after doing # 1 & 2 above. Be calm and professional when talking to the adjuster and try to compromise a settlement.

4. If you haven't already done so, change your goal from making money on this claim to just trying to not lose money on the claim. Seriously, if you have a minor injury with over treatment then your best course of action is to just try to get the bills paid and move on.

Good Luck

Answer 7

your deductible should not apply to your medical bills.  Deductibles are typically for physical damage to your car hence the names collision deductible or comprehensive deductible.  

good luck

Answer 8

you need to find out if you carry pip coverage and if you do, go thru your own insurance, they will later open a subrogation demand to get the money back.

Answer 9

Don't take the 800. Hire another attorney.