If you sustain severe injuries after a car accident, you may face unexpected costs, such as medical bills and property damage. Before attempting to pursue compensation, an injured person may want to consider speaking with an attorney about the many Oklahoma City car accident settlement issues that may arise.
Regardless of the circumstances of a car accident, agreeing upon the terms and conditions of a settlement can be difficult to accomplish. In addition to this complicated process, a person may have a medical lien, which can cause a delay in receiving their settlement.
Medical Liens
In most car accident cases, a medical lien is filed on a person’s medical bill, and as a result, the amount of compensation they can receive may be reduced. For example, when an insurance company agrees to pay for an injured person’s medical expenses, they may stipulate that if the claimant is granted compensation, the medical expenses must be repaid to the insurance company. This can lead to a claimant taking home substantially less than they previously believed when signing the settlement offer. For example, the insurance adjuster agrees to pay you $10,000 for your claim, and you don’t realize you have a medical lien from the hospital for $9,000. So, you only net $1k from the settlement after the lien is paid off.
The biggest issue with medical liens is when the providers file a lien early in the patient’s treatment. The doctor’s office wasn’t to make sure they get paid, so it’s common for them to file the lien before treatment has been completed. This causes what appears to be a low dollar amount attached to the lien, but the actual bill can be much higher. The insurance company will generally include all lien holders on a settlement check. A doctor’s office doesn’t endorse the check until they’re paid in full. You may have settled your case with the insurance company, but you won’t be able to cash the check until the medical lien holders sign off.
Additionally, if a claimant has a Medicare or Medicaid lien, getting the final dollar amount owed from the Medicare or Medicaid office can take a while. In this scenario, the insurance company paying the compensation in the settlement agreement will refuse to issue the check until they receive the final payout letter. This protects the insurance company in the event they underpay the lien.
Obtaining the Settlement Promptly
When a plaintiff and a defendant settle, the claimant can expect to receive compensation from the insurance company within a week or two. This time frame assumes that there are not any settlement delays regarding the medical liens.
To avoid potential delays, a person can take some steps to ensure they receive their settlement in a timely manner. Before signing the settlement release, a claimant can ask that a timeframe for issuing the check be included in the document. This may substantially reduce the risk of delays in receiving compensation. If a delay occurs following the placement of such a provision in the settlement agreement, an attorney can file a lawsuit to enforce the agreement. Before issuing check instructions, the attorney or claimant generally needs to be aware of all the liens on the claim to get the claim adequately resolved.
Following Up With the Insurance Company
Another way a car accident attorney can help ensure a person receives their settlement on time is to follow up with the insurance company. This is common sense, but it’s common for adjusters to be busy handling 100s of claim files. Sometimes, an insurance company may need prompting, and a detail-oriented lawyer could help ensure they mailed the checks.
Some defense attorneys order the checks as soon as an agreement is made and exchange the settlement release with the claimant’s attorney the same day.
Contact an Attorney About Issues in an Oklahoma City Car Accident Settlement
Before settling a car accident case, a person should understand that such an agreement is typically permanent and binding. Once you sign the settlement release, you can’t get more money later—even if you must get more medical treatment. To avoid potential Oklahoma City car accident settlement issues, a person may find meeting with a knowledgeable car accident lawyer beneficial. They could assess the factors that may impact your case and help develop an effective legal action plan.
