If you have been in a car accident and were injured, medical costs can add up quickly. Knowing who is responsible for payment relieves stress and puts your focus on recovery.
Who pays your medical bills right after a car accident?
When someone gets into a car accident and is injured, the question arises of how the medical bills will be paid. These bills often pile up quickly after a car accident, especially if the injuries are serious, and the injured person needs to go to several different specialists. The most natural thing to do is to use your medical insurance to pay for the bills, but in the case of a car accident, this is not always the right thing to do. There are two immediate potential avenues to have your medical bills paid after an auto accident: no fault car insurance or workers compensation.
What is no fault car insurance?
In Minnesota, all drivers are required to carry no-fault car insurance of a minimum of $20,000 per accident to pay medical bills and $20,000 to pay for lost wages. Carrying this coverage comes with benefits, such as covering your medical expenses, replacement costs for your vehicle, and income loss that result from the accident.
How do you access your no fault car insurance benefits?
Despite you often being entitled to these benefits after a car accident, they do not come automatically. Most car insurers will make you fill out an application for no fault benefits; may require the details of the accident; the type of automobiles used by both parties; a description of your injuries; the amount of your medical bills; and more.
What is workers compensation?
Every employer in Minnesota is required to carry workers compensation insurance. This insurance is meant to cover an employee’s medical and certain other expenses when an employee is injured on the job. If you were injured in a car accident, the injury arose out of your employment, and it occurred in the course of your employment, your bills would be covered by workers compensation insurance. If you or your car insurance company claims that injury occurred during the scope of your employment, you must first seek to have your medical bills and wage loss paid by your employer’s workers compensation insurance carrier.
What if I am owed more than what I was paid by no fault car insurance or workers compensation?
It is very common that a person’s expenses will not be fully covered by no fault or workers compensation insurance. In that case, you may make a bodily injury claim against the other driver’s insurance. In order to make that claim, you must have had medical expenses in excess of $4,000.00 or an injury that results in (1) permanent disfigurement; (2) permanent injury; death; (3) or disability for 60 days or more.
The Attorneys at Sieben & Cotter are experienced personal injury attorneys that can advise you on your options in your case. In every case, we assist our clients in helping them obtain no fault insurance benefits and receive fair compensation on their bodily injury claim.