In the United States, having up-to-date health insurance can be the difference between financial health and bankruptcy in the event of severe injury or illness. That applies to motorcycle crashes as well. These collisions can produce injuries ranging from road rash and whiplash, to traumatic brain injuries and paralysis.
The importance of health insurance in North Charleston motorcycle accidents cannot be overstated. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney could help you negotiate the best settlement for your losses.
Health Insurance’s Role After Motorcycle Accidents
The top two reasons it is important to have health insurance before a motorcycle accident are because of an increased likelihood of severe injuries that require more treatment and because there is no guarantee that the other driver will have enough insurance to cover the cost of treatment. Therefore, it is prudent for a motorcyclist to have both health insurance and car insurance to ensure they can be taken care of in the event of a collision.
Paying for Treatment
When someone is involved in an accident and they have health insurance, it will help pay for the treatment they receive. Health insurance providers will help negotiate a reduction in price for healthcare services. While the patient may have to pay back some of the costs out of their settlement, they would be stuck with the entire bill if they did not have insurance.
Paying the Health Insurance Company Back
The law in South Carolina says the individual’s health insurance provider is entitled to be repaid or subrogated for the cost of the injured party’s care that they paid for out of the proceeds of any personal injury case. However, the injured party’s lawyer also has the opportunity to negotiate a second time with the insurance carrier to determine how much the insurance company is willing to accept in subrogation or repayment for the money that they paid out.
A competent North Charleston lawyer can help the person injured in a motorcycle crash in negotiating with the health insurance company to reduce the amount the plaintiff must pay out of the settlement to pay back the insurance company.
How Much Do North Charleston Health Insurance Providers Ask for from Settlements?
If someone had catastrophic injuries, they will need hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical treatment. However, the available car insurance will not cover the injuries, so health insurance will need to pay some of it.
How much they pay will affect what the insurance company might agree to accept. Sometimes, the insurance company must agree to accept pennies on the dollar because there were only minimum limits of $25,000 available to go around to everybody who paid out money in the case. Therefore, if it is an insurance company or provider with a governmental tie in, they have a right to a greater percentage of the recovery. Medicare and TRICARE could theoretically demand 100% reimbursement.
However, insurance companies understand not to expect total reimbursement. No one would file a personal injury suit only to ensure insurance companies receive their money back, as that would not benefit the plaintiff, nor their attorney.
Typically speaking, insurance companies are pragmatic and can negotiate what they are willing to accept back, but it changes on a case-by-case basis. It is important to figure out ahead of time, because if the injured party does not resolve all those issues, they expose themselves to liability for the insurance carrier or the medical provider to come after them civilly. A proactive attorney could work to ensure that health insurance companies and doctors are repaid after a motorcycle crash.
Call an Attorney About the Importance of Health Insurance After Motorcycle Crashes
The need for health insurance is a fact of life in this country. This is especially true if you are driving a motorcycle. The importance of having health insurance in North Charleston motorcycle accidents is the same as any other time you might be facing catastrophic injuries. Reach out to a motorcycle crash attorney to learn how they can help you.
