Your health should be your primary concern after a car crash!
You should not be concerned with paying out of pocket for injuries you suffer in a car crash because there are a number of different insurance policies which may cover your accident-related medical bills including but not limited to your ambulance bills, hospital bills, physical therapy, chiropractic care, prescription medication, co-pays and deductibles.
Many treating providers or attorneys will understand how to coordinate the following types of medical coverage available to you: (1) car insurance’s personal injury protection (“PIP”) coverage; (2) private health insurance coverage; (3) car insurance’s medical payments coverage; and (4) car insurance’s bodily injury coverage, uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage.
First, as a car crash victim, you should have access to a car insurance policy with PIP coverage to pay at least the first $2,000 of your reasonable and necessary accident-related medical expenses.
Second, once you exhaust the first $2,000 in PIP medical benefits, your private health insurance policy, if available, will pay those medical benefits covered under your health plan.
Third, if you have no private health insurance or if your health insurance provides no coverage for such reasonable and necessary accident-related medical bills, your car insurance policy providing PIP coverage will cover your bills up to $8,000.
Fourth, for those reasonable and necessary accident-related medical bills not covered by your PIP or your health insurance, you may be able to get such bills paid under a car insurance policy that provides you medical payments coverage, if available.
Fifth, if you are not legally responsible for causing your accident, you should be able to have your outstanding medical bills paid by the car insurance policy (or policies) covering the person legally responsible for causing your accident.
Sixth, if the person legally responsible for causing your injuries has either no or insufficient bodily injury coverage available to cover your outstanding bills, you may be able to recover for your outstanding medical bills from the car insurance policy providing you uninsured/underinsured coverage.
Seventh, if you do not have sufficient insurance coverage for your accident-related medical bills, you may be able to negotiate the balance down to a sum that you can afford
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