In the aftermath of a Pennsylvania car accident, you are forced to deal with the conflicting agendas of many different people. The hospital, your doctors, and your pharmacist all want to be paid their fees in a timely manner. Your health insurance company doesn’t want to spend more money than it’s required to. And, under law, it’s only obliged to cover any balances left over after liability insurance provides its maximum payment.
And what about those liability carriers? Your personal car owner’s insurance and the other driver’s liability insurance want to pay as little as possible, because insurance companies make money by collecting premiums, not by paying out for claims.
If you don’t tread this minefield carefully, you can end up paying a lot of your medical bills from your personal funds while the insurance companies have a good laugh at your expense. That shouldn’t be necessary, especially if your injuries are due to negligence on the part of another driver. You deserve full compensation for your car accident medical bills.
Who’s Your True Ally?
You can expect the earliest moves will come from the car insurance claims adjusters. We often remind clients that Pennsylvania auto insurance adjusters do not have their best interests at heart, and this provides a great example. The adjuster is going make you an offer: “Work with us on this. Even though the face value of your driver’s insurance policy is higher, sign on this form to settle your claim with us for the amount equal to your health insurance deductible and co-payment. Your medical insurance will pay the rest of the claim off, and you’ll get out of this with no bills to pay.”
It’s a deal that sounds a lot better than it actually is.
Here’s why: liability insurance carriers such as your personal driver’s injury coverage or the other driver’s liability insurance actually have primary responsibility for paying for your traffic accident medical claim. They owe you the full amount needed to restore you to health as completely as possible. Depending on your coverage choices, this may also include appropriate payments for non-economic losses such as pain, emotional and psychological trauma, and damage to your personal relationships.
If you accept the insurance adjuster’s deal, you are cutting yourself out of a lot of potential compensation that you may deserve. Sure, the adjuster will probably get a pat on the back and a bonus for getting you to sign away your rights, but that’s no comfort to you.
At the Harrisburg office of Schmidt Kramer, our traffic accident attorneys are ready for insurance adjuster tricks like this one. If you want to know other strategies insurance companies use to get the better of you, or if you want to schedule a completely free, no-obligation case review, phone us today at 717-888-8888 or (717) 888-8888 toll-free. We’d also like to give you this opportunity to receive a FREE copy of our report, Who Pays the Bills When You Are Injured in an Automobile Accident?, available to all central Pennsylvania citizens as a complimentary download from this website.