Who Pays the Medical Bills After a Car Accident in Texas?

A car accident can cause serious injuries that require thousands of dollars in medical expenses over a victim’s lifetime. If you are injured in a car accident, it is normal to be concerned about how you will pay for your medical bills. The answer to this question will depend on many factors, including who caused the crash and the types of insurance available. You may need assistance from a car accident attorney in San Antonio.

Texas’ Fault Law

Every state has some type of car insurance law to ensure that drivers can pay for the injuries and property damage caused by a traffic accident. Most of these laws take the form of fault or no-fault rules. In a fault state, all drivers must carry minimum amounts of liability insurance. After an accident, liability insurance pays for victims’ medical costs and property damage. In a no-fault state, drivers carry personal injury protection insurance and pay for their own medical bills, regardless of fault for the car accident.

Texas is a fault state. This means the person or party who will pay the medical bills after a car accident is the driver who caused the crash. Under Texas’ insurance laws, the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability insurance will pay up to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in medical expenses (or more, if the driver has additional insurance). With this law, you must determine the cause of your car accident before you file an insurance claim for medical bill payment.

Financial Options for Medical Bills After a Car Accident

If you get injured in a car accident, you will have immediate medical bills. You may also have expenses related to ongoing medical care, such as medications, physical therapy or rehabilitation. Before you can file an insurance claim and obtain a settlement from the at-fault driver to pay for your medical care, you may need to use another outlet to cover your initial bills. Your options for medical bill payment may include:

• Health insurance. If you have health insurance, your provider will most likely cover the upfront costs of your medical bills. You may only need to pay a deductible to receive this coverage. If you are not liable for the car accident, your insurance provider can use a system called insurance subrogation to request repayment from the other driver’s insurance carrier.

• Auto insurance. As explained above, the at-fault party must pay for medical bills through his or her auto insurance after a car accident in Texas. If the at-fault party does not have insurance or it was a hit-and-run car accident, you may need to seek payment from your own auto insurance carrier instead.

• Personal injury lawsuit. If someone else caused your car accident, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against that party for financial compensation for medical bills. At the beginning of a lawsuit, your lawyer can issue a letter of protection to guarantee the health care provider that the bills will be taken care of with a future settlement.

These are three common ways that medical bills are paid for after a car accident in Texas. The best way to protect yourself financially after a crash is to contact a car accident lawyer in your city. A car accident lawyer can help you understand medical bill payment options. A lawyer can also contact the hospital and negotiate your medical bills down on your behalf. The provider may be willing to compromise with your attorney on a payment structure or require no payment until your car accident case is resolved.

For more information about paying for your medical bills after a crash, contact an attorney from The Law Offices of Maloney & Campolo.