After a Texas car crash, you may need medical treatment and rehabilitation for your physical injuries and emotional trauma. You have several options for covering the cost of your medical bills after a car accident, such as filing insurance claims or pursuing legal action against the other driver and any other parties at fault for the crash. Here is a breakdown:
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance
Your first option for paying medical bills after a car accident may involve filing a claim with your own car insurance company for personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Auto insurance companies in Texas must offer at least $2,500 in PIP coverage with all auto insurance policies. If you have minor injuries, your PIP insurance may cover your medical costs. Policyholders can choose to decline PIP coverage by submitting a written request.
PIP coverage provides compensation for medical expenses and lost wages you incur after car accidents, regardless of who was at fault. PIP allows you to pay the initial medical bills for treatment of your car accident injuries while you resolve legal actions against the driver(s) or other parties at fault for the car accident.
Policyholders can also purchase medical payment insurance, an additional form of coverage similar to PIP. Med Pay can help pay for medical bills incurred to treat car accident injuries regardless of who may have caused the crash. However, unlike PIP, Med Pay does not compensate for lost wages.
Mandatory Coverage
Texas operates as an “at-fault” state for car accident claims. In an at-fault system, you can immediately pursue legal action against the driver or another party who caused the car accident. As a result, Texas law requires every driver to purchase auto liability insurance coverage. Liability coverage compensates others for injuries and property damage they suffer in a car accident caused by the insured driver.
Limits
Texas requires drivers to carry auto liability insurance with minimum policy limits of $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage per accident. Policyholders can purchase higher liability coverage limits. When an at-fault driver lacks sufficient insurance coverage to compensate a car accident victim, the injured victim may file a lawsuit against the driver to recover additional compensation.
Health Insurance
If you have serious injuries, your medical bills may exceed the limits of your PIP coverage. You may need to turn to your health insurance coverage to help pay for health care expenses and rehabilitation, including physician visits, surgeries, medications, and other types of treatment.
Car accident victims may have private health insurance, employer-provided health insurance, or government health insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid. Health insurance will cover medical bills according to the policy terms up to any applicable coverage limits. If you eventually recover compensation from an at-fault driver in a car accident claim or lawsuit, your health insurer may request reimbursement of the monies it paid for your car accident medical treatment.
Secondary Coverage
When the at-fault driver doesn’t have liability insurance or their policy limits do not fully compensate you for your medical expenses, you may have the option to turn to your insurance provider if you’ve purchased uninsured (UM)/underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage. With UM/UIM coverage, your car insurance company steps in for the at-fault driver’s insurance to pay you compensation for losses you have the right to recover.
Out-of-Pocket Costs
During your medical care, you may incur additional out-of-pocket expenses, such as medications, medical supplies, and orthopedic equipment costs. Your health insurance may cover some or all of these expenses. If you have a health savings account, you can also use that to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Filing a Claim Against the At-Fault Driver
Finally, you can pursue compensation for your medical bills and expenses by filing a personal injury claim against the driver who caused the accident. In most cases, your injury case will begin with filing an insurance claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer to pursue a negotiated settlement. If the at-fault driver and their insurance won’t agree to a fair settlement, our Dallas personal injury lawyers at Kraft & Associates can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf, asking the court to order the insurer to reimburse you for your medical bills and other losses.
Right to Seek Compensation
In Texas’s at-fault system for car accident claims, you have the right to seek full reimbursement from those who caused the crash for the cost of medical and rehabilitation expenses incurred to treat your accident injuries.
However, if you recover compensation from liable parties through a personal injury claim or settlement, you may have to reimburse your health insurance company and other insurers who have provided coverage for your medical bills. You may also have outstanding bills with your healthcare providers, who can recover payment by imposing medical liens to recover reimbursement.
Supporting Your Claim
Recovering compensation for medical bills after a car accident will require you to prove the other driver’s fault for the auto accident. An experienced personal injury lawyer can gather various types of evidence to prove the cause of the crash and identify the parties responsible, such as:
- Police crash reports
- Accident scene photos and videos
- Surveillance or traffic camera or dashcam footage
- Eyewitness accounts
- Car computer logs
- Drivers’ cell phone records and GPS logs
- Vehicle maintenance and repair records
- Post-accident car inspections
- Accident reconstruction expert reports and testimony
You will also need documentation to establish the injuries and losses you’ve suffered due to the accident. Medical records of your treatment and rehabilitation and expert testimony from your treating medical providers can help support your injury claims and document anticipated future medical care. Bills, invoices, and receipts for medical care, rehabilitation, and out-of-pocket expenses will also help you calculate your past medical costs.
Get Legal Help from Our Experienced Attorneys Near You
After suffering injuries in a car accident in Texas, you should understand that you may have several avenues to recover the cost of your medical bills and rehabilitation costs. You should not bear the financial burden of medical debt from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options for pursuing a financial recovery.
Let a personal injury attorney with Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C., help you pursue the compensation you need. Our Dallas car accident attorneys have extensive experience in handling many personal injury cases. Call us today at (214) 999-9999 or fill out the contact form on our website for a free case review to discuss your legal options.
