Car accidents can cause serious injuries, leaving accident victims wondering about how they can pay unexpected medical bills while they wait for their car accident settlement. When they are already facing painful injuries, a prolonged time away from work, and stress caused by someone else’s negligence, the added financial stress can be too much to bear.
An experienced attorney from Cousin Benny Personal Injury can review your situation and identify your various options for handling mounting medical bills while you wait for your personal injury claim to settle or be tried. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Most Common Car Accident Injuries
Car crashes involve machines weighing thousands of pounds, the impact of the combined speed of both vehicles, and physics that can result in severe injuries. The human body is not meant to withstand such external forces, and it can be harmed in many ways in these incidents.
Some of the most common car accident injuries include the following:
Neck Injuries
Research indicates that the neck is the anatomical region of the body that sustains the most injuries in motor vehicle accidents. Neck injuries can include broken bones, soft tissue injuries, or other types of injuries.
Whiplash is the most common neck injury that people suffer in car accidents. This medical condition occurs due to forceful and rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, commonly associated with rear-end accidents. Symptoms of whiplash include the following:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Pain that worsens with movement
- Loss of range of motion in the neck
- Headaches starting at the base of the skull
- Tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back, or arms
- Fatigue and difficulty sleeping
- Numbness or tingling in the arms
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
- Irritability
- Difficulty focusing
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Car accidents can cause traumatic brain injuries when a sudden impact, jolt, or rapid movement causes the brain to move within the skull. These injuries can range from mild concussions to severe brain trauma and may affect a person’s physical abilities, cognition, behavior, and emotional health.
Possible complications and long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury can include:
- Seizures
- Blood vessel damage
- Blood clots
- Stroke
- Coma
- Nerve damage
- Cognitive difficulties
- Memory problems
- Changes in personality or behavior
- Depression, anxiety, or mood changes
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries cause lasting changes in your strength, ability to feel, and other bodily functions below the site of the injury.
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerve tissue that extends from the brainstem through the spinal canal and forms part of the central nervous system. It carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body. Damage to the spinal cord can interfere with these signals and may result in partial or complete loss of movement or sensation.
Car accidents can also cause other spinal injuries, including herniated discs and vertebral fractures. These conditions are not necessarily spinal cord injuries, although severe damage may compress or injure the spinal cord.
Effects of a spinal cord injury can include:
- Loss of movement or sensation below the site of the injury
- Bowel or bladder dysfunction
- Sexual dysfunction
The severity of these effects depends on the location and extent of the spinal cord damage. Treatment may include emergency stabilization, surgery, medication, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and other care intended to prevent further damage and help the injured person regain as much function and independence as possible.
Broken Bones
Bones can easily break under the stress of force involved in motor vehicle accidents. In bicycle accidents, broken arms are common. Broken legs correspond to motorcycle accidents. Car accident victims can sustain various types of fractured bones, including:
- Ribs
- Hips
- Wrists
- Hands
- Fingers
- Feet
- Collar bones
Some bones may heal with rest and staying off of them while the body recovers, but others may require surgery to set the bone back in place.
Back Injuries
Due to the positioning in motor vehicles, the back can absorb much of the force involved in a collision. Some of the most common back injuries in car accidents include:
- Spasms: A spasm is a sudden and involuntary contraction of a muscle. Sudden impact can cause muscles to overexert or move unusually, which can lead to these painful spasms.
- Strains: Pulled muscles or muscle strains are tears in muscle fibers. These are one of the most common soft tissue injuries suffered in car accidents. When the muscle is pulled too hard, the fibers weaken, leading to overstretching or tearing.
- Sprains: Sprains occur when a ligament is overstretched or torn, often occurring in the ankle, wrist, or knee. Rest, heat, and ice therapy may be used to help reduce swelling and inflammation.
- Vertebral fractures: Trauma to the lumbar and thoracic spine can cause fractures of the vertebrae. Bracing or surgery may be necessary to treat these serious injuries.
Facial Injuries
Facial injuries are common in car accidents because vehicle occupants may strike their heads on hard surfaces in the car interior, such as the steering wheel, dashboard, or side window. Also, glass can break, causing painful lacerations. Car accident victims may suffer various facial injuries, including:
- Eye damage
- Broken bones
- Contusions
- Lacerations
Some of these can be disfiguring injuries, requiring corrective surgery and damaging the victim’s self-image.
Chest Injuries
Chest injuries can occur when a vehicle occupant is thrown forward during a collision and restrained by a seatbelt. Depending on the force of the crash, the belt may place substantial pressure across the chest and can contribute to injuries such as bruising, abrasions, rib fractures, or other trauma.
Modern seatbelt systems may use locking retractors, pretensioners, and other restraint mechanisms to limit occupant movement during a crash. These systems are intended to reduce the risk of severe injury, although the forces involved in a collision can still cause injuries where the belt contacts the body.
Internal Organ Damage
Some injuries are not immediately apparent. Your body could be suffering, and you might not even know it. Internal injuries can include damage to your organs, such as your kidneys, bladder, lungs, or appendix. Internal bleeding can become life-threatening if not promptly treated. Symptoms of internal damage can include:
- Pain at the site of the injury
- Swollen abdomen
- Nausea and vomiting
- Unconsciousness
- Breathlessness
Burns
Burn injuries can occur in car accidents due to fire and explosions, contact with hot metal, and airbag deployment. Serious burn injuries may require treatment at a burn center, skin grafts, and reconstructive surgery.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Some car accident victims suffer from hidden injuries. Not all injuries are physical in nature. Accident victims may suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other psychological injuries.
PTSD is a psychological condition that arises after a life-threatening or otherwise traumatic event. Symptoms of PTSD can include:
- Having memories, dreams, and flashbacks of the traumatic event
- Avoiding people and places related to the trauma
- Avoiding driving or being in a vehicle after a car crash
- Negative changes in thinking and mood
- Emotional numbness or struggling with emotions
- Hypervigilance
- Being easily startled
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
- Difficulty concentrating
If you are experiencing these symptoms, consider seeking medical treatment.
Types of Medical Expenses You Might Incur After a Car Crash
Car accidents may result in the need for various types of medical treatment and associated expenses, such as:
- Ambulance transport
- Emergency room treatment
- Diagnostic imaging tests, such as X-Rays,CT scans, and MRIs
- Hospital stays
- Surgery costs
- Prescription medication
- Assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, braces, prosthetics, or crutches
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Occupational therapy
- Home health aides
- Chiropractic care
- Psychological treatment
It can be intimidating to try to figure out how to pay all of these expenses alone. An experienced car accident lawyer can help.
Who Is Responsible for Paying for My Medical Bills After a Car Accident?
Pennsylvania uses first-party auto insurance benefits along with fault-based liability rules for car accident claims. After many Pennsylvania car accidents, applicable first-party medical benefits pay covered medical expenses regardless of who caused the crash. If another driver was responsible, you may also have a claim against that driver or their liability insurer for losses that Pennsylvania law allows you to recover.
Through a personal injury claim, you may seek compensation for medical expenses that aren’t paid or payable through applicable first-party benefits, lost income, and other legally recoverable damages. The at-fault driver’s liability insurer generally doesn’t pay your medical bills as you incur them. Instead, those expenses may become part of the damages evaluated when the personal injury claim is resolved.
Because you may still receive bills while your injury claim is pending, it’s important to determine which insurance coverage or other payment source applies. A car accident lawyer can review your auto insurance coverage, available first-party benefits, health insurance, and other potential sources of payment while also identifying losses that may be included in your claim against the responsible party.
Options for Covering Medical Bills After a Car Accident
Depending on your particular situation, some of the options that you may have available for paying medical bills after a car crash include the following:
Medical Benefits Coverage
Pennsylvania law generally requires applicable auto insurance policies covering registered motor vehicles to include at least $5,000 in first-party medical benefits. These benefits can pay reasonable and necessary medical treatment arising from a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the crash. Certain vehicles, including motorcycles and motor-driven cycles, are excluded from this requirement.
You may also have purchased medical benefits above the required minimum. The policy responsible for paying first-party benefits can depend on your insurance status and your relationship to the vehicle involved in the accident.
Health Insurance
If you have health insurance, your health coverage may pay certain accident-related medical expenses after applicable auto insurance medical benefits are exhausted or unavailable. You may still be responsible for deductibles, copays, coinsurance, or other amounts required under your plan.
The health insurer’s right to recover money from a later personal injury settlement depends on the type of health plan and the terms governing the coverage. Pennsylvania law restricts subrogation or reimbursement for certain benefits in motor vehicle cases, but some plans governed by federal law, including certain self-funded employer health plans, may have enforceable reimbursement rights. An attorney can review the applicable plan documents and determine whether any reimbursement obligation applies to your settlement.
Medicaid or Medicare
If you already receive Medicare or Medicaid, those programs may pay certain accident-related medical expenses, subject to applicable eligibility and coordination-of-benefits rules.
- Medicare may make conditional payments for treatment when another insurer is responsible but has not paid promptly. If you later receive a settlement, judgment, or other payment related to the accident, Medicare may have a right to recover qualifying conditional payments.
- Pennsylvania Medicaid may also seek reimbursement for certain medical expenses it paid when a recipient later obtains compensation from a third party responsible for the injury. The amount subject to recovery can depend on the benefits paid, the settlement or judgment, and applicable Pennsylvania and federal Medicaid rules.
Medical Liens
Some healthcare providers may agree to delay collection of your medical bills while your personal injury claim is pending. In exchange, you may be asked to sign an agreement requiring payment from any settlement or judgment you later receive.
Depending on the provider and the agreement, the obligation may be structured as a lien, assignment, letter of protection, or another contractual repayment arrangement. Before signing, you should understand how the provider will be paid and whether the agreement gives the provider a right to receive payment directly from your recovery.
Payment Plans
Some medical providers may allow you to enter into a payment plan to make paying for your medical care more manageable. With a payment plan, you may make a monthly payment of a certain agreed-upon amount until you receive your settlement. Taking this step may help protect your credit by preventing your healthcare provider from submitting your case to debt collection companies.
Lawsuit Funding
Some companies offer pre-settlement funding or litigation advances to personal injury claimants who need money for immediate expenses while their claims are pending. Depending on the agreement, repayment may come from the proceeds of a settlement or judgment rather than through ordinary monthly loan payments.
These arrangements can involve substantial fees, financing charges, or other costs, and the amount owed may increase the longer the case remains unresolved. You should review the contract carefully and understand how repayment will be calculated before accepting this type of funding.
How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help with Medical Expense Issues
Car accident attorneys serve many critical functions. They advocate for their clients through the entire life cycle of their legal claim. They can help with medical expense issues by:
- Reviewing your situation and explaining your options
- Reading relevant insurance policies and terms regarding reimbursement and medical liens
- Helping establish payment arrangements or medical liens
- Negotiating the cost of medical liens
- Explaining any contracts that hospitals or healthcare providers have you sign
Cousin Benny Personal Injury offers a free consultation where you can learn more about how we can help and the legal services we provide. Call us today to arrange yours.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation to Discuss Your Legal Options
If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, you should not have to worry about how to cover unanticipated medical expenses. Various options may be available to help you manage your medical bills while your car accident attorney works diligently to secure full and fair compensation for your legal claim.
Cousin Benny Personal Injury can help you navigate the legal complications associated with medical bills following an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. Our personal injury attorneys have decades of experience protecting the rights of injury victims and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help.