Can a Pre-Existing Condition Affect a Austin Personal Injury Claim?
If you have been injured by someone else’s negligence, obtaining the compensation you need to cover your medical expenses is naturally an important element of your recovery. The fact is, however, that your personal injury claim can take a considerable amount of time to be fully resolved, and you can’t wait (and shouldn’t wait) to seek the medical attention that you need. At such a point is where a letter of protection can play an important role. If someone else’s negligence leaves you injured in an accident, the most important first step you can take is reaching out to an Austin, Texas injury attorney firm for the professional legal guidance that you need.
What’s In This Guide
- Common Personal Injury Claims
- Letter of Protection
- The Insurance Company Does Not Pay as You Go
- What You Need to Know About the Insurance Company
- When Letters of Protection Are Needed
- Your Lawyer’s Role
Common Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury claims are a legal tool used for obtaining compensation for the losses (or damages) you experience as a result of someone else’s negligence. These claims are generally filed with the at-fault party’s insurance provider, and common types of personal injury claims include:
- Traffic accidents of all kinds, including car, truck, motorcycle, bike, and pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and other forms of premises liability claims
Letter of Protection
A letter of protection in a personal injury claim is a letter generated by your personal injury attorney that guarantees your claim-related medical bills will be covered upon its resolution. The personal injury claims process tends to be quite lengthy, but you need medical care and attention now. As a result, your doctor and your skilled personal injury attorney can negotiate a payment agreement that is laid out in the letter of protection. In essence, your attorney agrees to earmark funds that you are expected to receive when your claim is settled for your medical bills.
A letter of protection helps to ensure that you receive the medical attention that you need when you need it, which is critical to your ability to recover fully. Without a letter of protection, it can be far more difficult to demonstrate the full extent of the losses you’ve experienced because you may not have the medical bills to back them up. Delaying medical treatment, in other words, is not only bad for your health but is also bad for your personal injury claim. Without a letter of protection, obtaining the full range of medical care that you need can be challenging.
The Insurance Company Does Not Pay as You Go
You may be surprised to learn that the insurance company covering your personal injury claim will not pay your medical bills as you go along. The burden is on you to seek the medical attention that you need and to submit the total costs when the matter of your recovery is fully resolved – or the path forward toward your most complete recovery is well understood. Because insurance companies are known for pushing the limits of fairness, medical professionals are sometimes concerned about being paid and may refuse treatment as a result. A letter of protection, however, can help..
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What You Need to Know About the Insurance Company
While it’s true that the insurance company is handling your personal injury claim – and is paid to do so – it is a for-profit business that is driven by those profits, meaning that it will do what it can to keep your settlement to a minimum. Tactics that it has at its disposal include:
- Denying the extent of your damages
- Prolonging and complicating the claims process
- Undercutting the value of your claim
- Denying their policyholders’ liability in personal injury claims
- Offering early settlements that don’t come close to covering claimants’ complete damages
With these less-than-honest approaches in play, it is not difficult to understand why medical providers are often concerned about being paid fairly for their services.
[Related Article] Can a Pre-Existing Condition Affect a Austin Personal Injury Claim?
When Letters of Protection Are Needed
Letters of protection are specifically designed for personal injury claimants (those who’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence) who have hired personal injury attorneys. If you find yourself in this situation, but you also have health insurance that covers your medical bills as you go, you won’t need a letter of protection. If, however, you don’t have health insurance or your health insurance refuses to cover your full array of damages, a letter of protection may be in order. A letter of protection does not alter the fact that you are responsible for covering your medical bills but, instead, means that your doctor agrees to accept deferred payment until your personal injury claim is finalized.
Your Lawyer’s Role
Although the letter of protection is between your personal injury attorney and your medical provider, your attorney is not responsible for paying your medical bills. Instead, your attorney is ensuring your doctor that they will be reimbursed out of the settlement that you are expected to receive. If no settlement (or court award) is forthcoming, your attorney has no responsibility for paying your medical bills.
The role a letter of protection plays is cementing an understanding between your doctor and personal injury attorney that payment for your medical bills is guaranteed to be dispersed from your settlement. Because medical professionals generally trust reputable personal injury attorneys to pursue just compensation for their clients skillfully, a letter of protection can help you obtain the medical attention you need after being injured by someone else’s negligence.
It’s Time to Consult with an Experienced Austin Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been injured by someone else’s negligence and don’t have adequate health insurance to cover the attendant medical bills, there are better options than skimping on the healthcare that you need. The seasoned Austin personal injury attorneys at The Patel Firm have a wealth of experience helping clients like you obtain timely medical attention with letters of protection, and we’re here for you too. We are on your side and here to help, so please don’t hesitate to contact or call us at 361-400-2036 for more information today.
