St. Louis Auto Crash Attorney on Paying Medical Bills

If you have been injured in a St. Louis auto crash, and you find that the at-fault driver has full insurance coverage, you may feel relieved that your medical bills are now covered. It is always recommended that you get the at-fault driver's insurance information after the accident as it makes the claim process easier. However, having this information does not mean you can use it as your health insurance. You should know how to use it, when you are asked for the insurance information at the hospital.

First and foremost, when you are asked about your insurance, you should not give the other driver’s car insurance information. Rather you should give your own health insurance. Remember, the at-fault driver’s insurance does not work in the same way as your health insurance.

So, how does it work?

The rule is simple, car insurance for claim and health insurance for hospital. If you are being treated for injuries that resulted from an accident that was not your fault, you will still have to pay the bills. However, you may wonder how much you will have to pay out of pocket.

If you are taken to an emergency room or hospital after a car accident, and you give them your health insurance information, you will have to pay the policy’s deductible and co-pay. You will then get the necessary treatment and go back home. At this point it is important to get in touch with a St. Louis auto crash lawyer. You attorney can then help you recover compensation for your medical bills and other expenses that resulted from the accident.

Here is how the other scenario works. If you give the other person’s car insurance information to the hospital, things will work differently, and may not go quite smoothly. Using the insurance information you provided, the hospital will try to process claim, which will be rejected, because car insurance companies would not pay individual bills.

When the hospital finds out that the claim is rejected, and that the insurance company won’t pay the bills, they will approach you for the full payment of the medical bills, and not just the deductible. Keep in mind that the medical bills can be extremely high. Moreover, health insurance policies require you to notify them of the medical treatment within a limited time period from the date of the treatment. The person’s failure to notify the health insurance company of the treatment, or to submit the bills in time may jeopardize your ability to recover your bills.

For this reason, when you go to the hospital to get treatment for a car accident injury, you should not provide at-fault driver’s insurance information even if you have it. Use your health insurance to pay the bills, and then let your car accident lawyer take care of your claim for compensation.

If you have been injured in a St. Louis auto accident, contact our law office today at (314) 361-4242 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced attorney.