QuestionHad accident some time back. Was other drivers fauld. Both of us were insured by Nationwide. I went to Chiropractic center to be checked out. About a week later I signed a "release of all claims" form as settlement. They did not pay the Dr as I thought they would. Was I supposed to pay out of what they gave me in the settlement?
AnswerJim,
I made a typo on the first answer, and it will kill me if I don't fix it. Here's your answer again, typo free.
I'm terribly sorry for the delay, somehow your questions slipped past me and good ol' Allexperts e-mailed me and told me I had a question pending.
Anyway, here's your answer: Yes.
In almost every instance on auto liability claims, when an injury settlement is made, it is made directly to the injured party. The injured party is responsible for paying their own medical bills.
Think of it this way, nobody wrecked into the chiro or hospital or made any deal with your chiro or hospital except you. You are solely responsible for contracts that you make and you can't pass that burden on to somebody else. What you can do is get paid for the reasonable cost of necessary medical services as the result of another's negligence from that person's liability insurance carrier (if you're not in a no-fault state, of which there are only about 13, I think). That's what happened to you, you got paid for your injury and signed a release.
Now, as a final disclaimer, I'll say that many times there are statutes that regulate medical liens (from any type of County, State, or Federal facility or service) that apply even to third party claims handlers. There are strict rules for these statutes to apply and normally insurance companies review claims for risk of missing a lien they are required to protect. Without a lot more information, I can't better answer your question. I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
JP
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