If you have been injured in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you may find yourself in a frustrating position. You need to see a doctor for your injuries, but without health insurance, many medical providers and healthcare providers require significant payment upfront. It feels incredibly unfair to be stuck in pain with no relief in sight because you can’t afford immediate payment. When you call the at-fault car insurance company, they won’t agree to pay your doctor bills as they come in. Instead, they typically offer a one-time, low-ball settlement only after your treatment is finished. This leaves many accident victims feeling trapped by the system, wondering how they will pay for the care they need right now.
This shouldn’t happen very often, right? Actually, this happens all the time. This is where an experienced car accident lawyer becomes essential. Since all car crash cases are different, we highly recommend that you call us for a free consultation. This way, we can help get you pointed in the right direction.
Car Accident + No Health Insurance: What Are My Options?
According to recent stats, roughly 1,000,000 people in North Carolina do not have any form of health insurance. When you don’t have health insurance, getting medical treatment can feel nearly impossible unless you know how the system works. Bradley Law Group helps accident victims without health insurance on a daily basis, so we have a lot of experience in this area.
Below are several options for car accident victims (without health insurance) on how to get medical treatment. In this blog, we assume that: (i) you were in a car accident, (ii) the accident was not your fault, (iii) you do not have car insurance, and (iv) there is car insurance to pay at the end of your case.
Option 1: Go To a Hospital Emergency Room
If you have a medical emergency, hospital emergency rooms in North Carolina must treat you regardless of insurance status. This is required by federal law, which mandates that healthcare providers offer emergency medical treatment to accident victims even if they do not have insurance. You will be billed for the medical services, but your car wreck attorney can seek reimbursement of these bills at the end of your case (assuming that the services provided are related to the accident). Most hospitals have financial assistance programs / charity care programs available. These programs may help to reduce or possibly eliminate your medical charges altogether. Our car accident lawyers work with our clients to take advantage of these programs whenever possible.
Option 2: Seek Chiropractic Treatment
Let’s assume that you have been checked out at the emergency room. The emergency room doctor told you that you don’t have any broken bones, but you are going to be really sore on account of various muscle sprains and strains. These types of injuries are often called “soft tissue” injuries. These car accident injuries are very common. Many chiropractors will treat car accident victims without being paid up front. Instead, the chiropractor will send a legal document to your attorney (a lien) requiring that the balance be paid at the end of your case. This is known as a medical lien, and many medical providers use medical liens to allow patients to receive treatment without immediate payment. Some healthcare providers and medical providers will agree to treat patients in exchange for a promise to pay the bills from the proceeds of a personal injury claim, settlement, or verdict. This allows you to get the treatment you need now, without having to pay up front.
We have worked with many chiropractic clinics across North Carolina. If you need to be seen by a chiropractor, we can often work with you to locate a clinic that works on a “treat now – pay later” basis.
Option 3: Consider Physical Therapy
You have been seen at the emergency room or by your family doctor. You have been referred to physical therapy. Unfortunately, a standard course of physical therapy can easily run $2,500 – $5,000. What do you do if you can’t pay as you go? Ongoing medical care are often necessary for accident victims, as recovery can require continuous medical attention beyond initial emergency services.
Until recently, physical therapy was very difficult to arrange without health insurance. However, we now have the option to arrange physical therapy for our clients on a lien “treat now – pay later” basis! If the physical therapists in your area will not treat you on a lien basis, does that mean that you can’t get treatment? Nope. We have another arrow in our quiver. We can often get our clients physical therapy by working with a company that will pay the cost of your treatment for you. What? Yes, there are companies that will pay for medical treatment now and then seek reimbursement at the end of your case. We work with several of these companies and they are often a great help to our clients.
Option 4: Consult Orthopedic / Neurologist / Neurosurgeon / Other Specialists
In the past, if you didn’t have health insurance, you were not going to be able to seek treatment from most specialists. Thankfully, things have gotten better for car accident victims. Now, we can often get our MVA clients seen by specialists by working with outside funding companies. The funding company pays for your treatment up front and then gets paid back at the end of your case. This opens up a lot of doors that had previously been shut to people without health insurance. If you need to be seen by a specialist after a car accident, give us a call. If everything in your case checks out, there’s a good chance that we might be able to help you get the treatment that you need.
Don’t Wait To Get Medical Care. File a Personal Injury Lawsuit With Bradley Law Group
Car accident cases are very time sensitive. If you have been injured in a car / motorcycle / truck accident, and it wasn’t your fault, give us a call for a free consultation. It is important to seek medical care immediately after an accident to ensure proper treatment and to create medical records, which are essential evidence for any personal injury claim. We can discuss the various treatment options that might be available to you without health insurance. A personal injury lawyer can help you file a personal injury claim even if you don’t have health insurance—your right to compensation does not depend on your insurance status. We help uninsured people every day, and we hope that we will be able to help you too!
****All cases are unique and are evaluated independently. Past results are not a guarantee of future performance. This post does not form an attorney client relationship with the reader nor is it intended as legal advice. State laws are different regarding insurance coverages and their applicability. Bradley Law Group represents people involved in accidents in North Carolina.