If someone’s carelessness in a Florida accident caused you to get treated at the hospital, then you probably want to get your hospital bills paid so you are left owing nothing.
For purposes of this article the word “hospital” also means “urgent care center.”
Warning! Different states have different laws in regards to who is responsible for paying your hospital bill after an accident. This article will focus on Florida accidents caused by someone else’s carelessness. If you are injured in Florida, only look at articles that specifically apply to Florida accidents.
Tip: If you get medical treatment at the hospital or urgent care center, then there will also be an emergency room doctor bill which is separate from the hospital bill.
In order to determine who pays your hospital bills after an accident caused by someone else in Florida, the first step is to look at the type of accident which occurred. We are going to take a look at the most common types of accidents.
1. Car or Truck Accidents
Florida’s auto accident insurance laws are different than every other state. You may be dealing with PIP coverage, health insurance, Medical Payments (Medpay) coverage, bodily injury (BI) liability coverage, uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, first party coverage and more.
The way in which hospital bills are paid after a Florida car or truck crash goes against intuition.
2. Motorcycle Accidents
a. Medpay Coverage
If there is medical payments (Medpay) coverage on the motorcycle that you were riding at the time of the crash, then you should make a claim with the medical payments insurance company to pay your hospital bills. You should request and review all of your hospital bills and send them to the Medpay insurer as soon as possible.
You should send, via certified mail return receipt requested, the proper letter to the Medpay insurer for the motorcycle which requires them to let you know if they are seeking subrogation (to be repaid) from the injury settlement. If the Medpay insurer does not respond within the applicable time required by Florida law, you can argue that they have waived their right to get paid from the settlement. This can result in a big savings to you.
If the Medpay insurer has subrogation rights, then you can attempt to negotiate the amount that they are claiming from the personal injury settlement against the party who caused your crash.
Tip: If you have an attorney, the Medpay insurer is required to reduce its lien by a minimum of the pro-rata share of your attorney’s fees and costs. The fact that an attorney can get your Medpay lien reduced is one of the 11 reasons to hire a Florida injury lawyer if someone caused your injuries.
b. Health Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and other first party coverage
Even if you are covered by Medpay, your health insurance may pay for hospital bills that Medpay does not pay including, but not limited to, the deductible, co-pay, bills that are above the Medpay limits, or bills that are not paid because Medpay denied coverage.
Tip: Even if you are covered by Medpay, always give your health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid information to the hospital. This is true even if they tell you that they do not need it.
Sometimes Medpay will pay, and a hospital will write off or significantly reduce the balance if you have health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
Be sure to send your health insurance company a letter from the Medpay insurance company showing that benefits are exhausted. Without this letter, your health insurer may deny paying the hospital bills.
c. Bodily Injury (BI) Coverage
You should send a letter to the parties who are liable for the crash which puts them on notice of your injury claim. You should request, review and immediately send the following documents to any of the parties who are liable for the crash:
- Your hospital bills
- The Medpay payment log
- Any of the following liens and itemized breakdown of payments made by health insurance, a health plan, Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare or other first party coverage lien.
If the BI liability coverage is not limited, then you should submit a demand package to the insurer with a demand that gives you enough negotiating room so that you can settle for the fair value of the case, which hopefully includes full payment of the hospital bills.
d. Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage
If another driver’s carelessness caused you to get hospital treatment, and health insurance and the BI coverage do not cover your hospital bills, then you should make a claim under any policies of UM coverage to which you are an insured that will cover you while on a motorcycle.
3. Slip, Trip and Fall and Other Accidents at Supermarket, Store or Other Business Establishment
If you had a slip, trip or fall and went to the hospital after the accident caused by the negligence of a store, supermarket or other business establishment, then you should request and review the hospital records and bills. Even if you have health insurance, you may still owe money to the hospital.
You should send a letter to the operator and owner of the store, supermarket or other business establishment which puts them on notice of your personal injury claim. You should quickly submit the hospital bills and records to the premises owner or operator (or its insurance company) where you fell or were injured so that they can set the proper reserve for your personal injury claim.
You should also send these bills and records to any additional parties who may be liable, such as a landscaper or cleaning company.
Medpay Coverage
You should determine if the premises insurer, if one exists, has medical payments (Medpay) coverage. If there is Medpay coverage, you should demand, in writing, that they pay the hospital bill. If Medpay is available and the insurance company will not pay the bill, you should consider getting a free consultation from a Florida injury attorney who may be willing to sue them in an attempt to get the hospital bill paid.
Personal Injury Claim for Hospital Bills
If the store, supermarket or other business establishment’s carelessness caused you to get treated at the hospital, then may want to make an injury claim against the owner or operator of the premises with the goal of getting a settlement that can cover your hospital bills, all your other bills, lost wages, and give you money for your pain and suffering.
Learn more about how to get your medical bills paid after an accident in a Florida store, supermarket or other business establishment.
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