Car accidents that cause neck and back injuries happen every day. When you're the person in the wrong place at the wronge time, it can be a troublesome experience.
Some people see the car rental, mechanic's bills, doctors visits, and therapy as a frustrating inconvenience. And then there are others with tight schedules and budgets who see it as an insurmountable roadblock in their lives. Either way, it will develop into an emotional battle that becomes as a "me versus the insurance company" scenario.
Recovering financially from a car accident is particularly stressful when it comes to getting the doctor bills paid. It is a common practice to give the billing staff the other driver's auto insurance information rather than your own health insurance card.
It follows a certain logic; it's the other person's fault, so their car insurance is r
esponsible for paying bills. And moreover, people tend to think of their health insurance as being a sort of personal asset, and no one wants to deplete their assets unnecessarily, especially when another person is liable. This is a HUGE mistake.
In more cases than not, it will reduce the amount of money you will recover.
The payment of medical bills from car accidents is not cut and dry. Car insurance is very different from health insurance. Car insurance centers around liability. Just because an insurance company accepts liability for an accident, it doesn't mean you won't have a fight on your hands. All it means is that they acknowledge that their insured caused the accident. They don't take responsibility for the degree of your injury.
The other driver's insurance company will dispute your bills and downplay your injuries.
Think of the insurance representatives who call you. They are the adjusters. By definition, they alter, mend, modify, and fight tooth and nail to pay you as little as possible. They will cut you a check only after you have waived your rights to ask them to pay for more treatment.
Most of the time, they do this before you have had a chance to discover the true extent of your injuries.
When you make the mistake of submitting your medical bills to a car insurance company, you may think that the car insurance company pays them, but that's not how it works. Instead, the billing department asserts a hospital lien to try to recover dollar for dollar from your settlement!
I've had a number of people come to me after they settled their own case because they were surprised with how little they walked away with after all of the liens were satisfied.
The bottom line is this; if you have been in an accident, submit ALL of your medical bills to your health insurance. The doctors will have to get paid one way or another, and if it's not through your own insurance, it will come out of your final settlement.
