How Do You Pay Your Bills After a Car Accident?

When you’re in a car accident, you might be wondering how you’re going to pay your medical bills and fix your car while you’re waiting on the insurance company. Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy answers. The other driver’s insurance company isn’t going to pay your medical bills as they occur. Instead, you’ll get a settlement at the end of your recovery. In the meantime, your life goes on. What are your options for paying your medical bills?

Use Your Own Health Insurance

If you have health insurance, you can use those benefits and only pay your deductible and co-pays. Keep track of all of your bills and what you paid and what the insurance company paid. Your insurance company may want to be repaid when the claim is settled. The insurance company may even place a lien on your future settlement. This is very normal, but you should speak to an attorney if this occurs.

Work Out Arrangements With Medical Providers

Your medical bills are your responsibility, even if you were in an accident that wasn’t your fault. The healthcare providers can’t bill the other party for your bills. If you don’t pay your bills, you are going to be the one that the providers contact. You can try to work out an arrangement with the provider to avoid going to collections. Maybe you pay an amount every month until you receive a settlement. The provider may also put a lien on your settlement to ensure it gets paid instead of sending the account to a credit agency.

Settle Fast or Wait?

You may be under pressure to pay your bills. If the other driver’s insurance company offers a settlement, you might be tempted to take it. It can be a difficult decision, because you want to pay the bills. However, it may not cover your future bills. Once you settle with the insurance company, you are prohibited from receiving more money for future bills.

It’s advisable to have a personal injury attorney assess your situation and give you information about legal issues that could affect your claim. Your attorney may be able to help you with creditors. Just having a lawyer on your side could encourage the other party’s insurance company to settle fairly with you.

Talking to a car accident lawyer is generally free for the initial consultation. You and the lawyer sit down together and decide if your case is worth pursuing. It can help you have peace of mind for what to do next. Speak with an attorney, like a car accident attorney , to learn more.