Auto Insurance Claims: Hit and Run Accident, made whole doctrine

Question
Hi ,We had a hit and run accident on the 5 freeway  in CA back in December 2010, we went to see an attorney in May 2011 after my medical bills became enormously crazy. I had health insurance coverage through my work and I had  paid everything in regards to my out of pocket expense , the only thing that I wasn't able to pay was my physical therapy bill, which was $4000. Now my attorney is telling me that I have a lien to pay to my health insurance after I get a settlement for what they covered as it is called 3rd part law, he never mentioned this part , if he had , I would have settled through my car insurance as they had promised me to pay for all my treatments after closing the claim.Is it fair to pay an additional amount out of my settlement even though I had my pay my copayment in full. My settlement is 25k, 33% going to the attorney, 4k going to my physical therapy, 12k going to my health Insurance for no reason, Im eneding up with $750 in my pocket that doesn't even cover the thousands I paid out of pocket. Thanks in advance for your response.

Answer
I sorry this question slipped through the cracks and AllExperts sent me a notice that i was pending.  I am truly sorry for the delayed answer, I am usually very fast with Allexperts requests. . .


So for your dilemma . . . .

There is such a thing as the "made whole doctrine".  It is way too complicated for me to explain over allexperts, but I will happily consult with you about your claim for free if you look me up on the web and contact my office directly.  

Basically, the made whole doctrine (which does apply in CA), says that the insurance company cannot recover it's payments back until you have been made whole.  How does the Health Insurance company know that the settlement you got was not for your pain and suffering?  They cannot just take back their money unless you agreed to let them have priority over the claim (which is possible).  Trust me, you need professional help with this question.  

Definitely look me up.  Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC.  I'm sorry I couldn't give you a quick and simple answer on this one.  It truly could be a $12K mistake to handle this incorrectly.