Medical collections & car insurance
Date: Sat, 10/17/2009 - 19:24
We live in WA and I need some advice on medical bills. My son (18) was in an auto accident in April, right before HS graduation. He was parked on the shoulder of a road in daylight and another driver crossed the center line and hit him head-on. Both cars were totaled.
My son was injured, but not too severely. He suffered a broken nose, concussion when his head ricocheted off the windshield and his knee was injured when it rammed up under the dashboard.
He had an MRI, and was going to physical therapy but had to stop because they wanted payment at time of visit and he couldn't afford it. We would have gone somewhere else but this is a rural area - they are the ONLY ones.
The other party never admitted fault (he failed the field sobriety test but was not arrested for DUI!) although the Sheriffs report did show him at fault. The jerk had rolled another car on that same road two weeks prior to hitting our son! His insurance company (Pemco) finally admitted liability and paid for our car, and for loss of use but now they are dragging it out paying for his medical.
Our medical insurance has paid most of it, but we cannot afford to pay the 20% that is our responsibility. The MRI alone was over $3,000.00. These bills are being sent to collections and ruining my sons credit before he even has any! We hired an attorney firm (Gregory Swapp) and they are pursuing the claim, but they say we should just pay the medical bills because the other party will not pay interest and penalties when it goes to collections.
Oh yeah, Pemco at first offered him $600.00 for pain and suffering. I think that is unreasonable. The kid had to present his senior boards two days after the accident, take the SAT's the Saturday after the accident and missed his senior trip because of it. His knee is still bothering him and his nose will never look the same again, he has nightmares and refuses to drive down that road because the jerk drives it home every day.
Has anyone ever dealt with insurance companies after an auto accident? I thought they were supposed to pay the medical when their guy was at fault. The lawyer just says we have to wait on them to make a decision what they are willing to pay.
I haven't been pursuing this too actively since April because my husband had a stroke in May (yeah, bummer year over here!) but now the bills are mounting up for the kid and he cannot pay them.
Any help or advice greatly appreciated.:(
When I had a car accident, my car insurance covered my medical a
When I had a car accident, my car insurance covered my medical and then my insurance company pursued the other insurance company since it was their fault.
I've never had any auto accident that involved medical -- but li
I've never had any auto accident that involved medical -- but like Soaplady, my understanding is that you can file the claims directly with your insurance, they would pay out the medical expenses, and then go after the other guy's insurance for reimbursement.
I think that, if his insurance is not co-operating, you could sue that driver personally. Problem is suing is that personal injury cases can drag on for years, I'm sorry to say.
Have you talked to your insurance at all about this? I don't think it's too late to file a claim with them, and then let their lawyers handle it....
Our insurance was liability only. Geico said it was Pemco's resp
Our insurance was liability only. Geico said it was Pemco's responsibility to pay the medical.
What makes me really mad is that the kid had to stop his physical therapy because he cannot afford it - which means his knee is still hurting and popping out when he walks, etc.
I would think Pemco would at least pay for that so they don't end up with a bigger problem from long-term damage. The doc said he might need arthroscopic surgery at some point to repair cartilage damage.
I'm gonna spend some quality time on the phone Monday with both insurance companies and the lawyer. yay.