Medical expenses after a car accident can be huge, and many injured victims cannot afford their medical bills alone. The person who caused the crash should be made to pay for your medical bills and other damages.
Typically, most injured drivers file insurance claims as a first course of action. Claims with supplemental or optional insurance policies might be necessary to get fuller coverage. If insurance is unavailable or inadequate, you can file a lawsuit. Before we get your medical expenses paid for, we need to evaluate your expenses, so we know what kind of damages to claim. You can only recover the medical expenses you include in your insurance claim or complaint.
Medical expenses are known for being outrageously high. Our Illinois personal injury lawyers can help you determine the best way to recover these medical expenses. For a free case review, call the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502.
How to get Paid for Medical Expenses After an Illinois Car Accident
Getting medical expenses paid for is often chief among the concerns of car accident victims. Depending on the circumstances, you might have multiple options, including insurance claims and lawsuits. Our Illinois car accident lawyers are here to help you figure out the best way to get your medical bills covered so you can move on with your life.
Insurance
Car accidents and insurance claims go hand-in-hand, and an insurance claim is often the first action taken by injured drivers. Illinois is a fault-based insurance state, meaning you must file a third-party claim with the other driver’s insurance. On top of that, you need to prove to the insurance company that the other driver caused the accident before you receive any compensation.
The insurance company might question you about the accident and your injuries. If they suspect you partially contributed to the crash, even just a little bit, they might try to reduce your compensation or deny your claim.
Insurance tends to cover only economic damages; non-economic damages are usually not covered. So, while your medical expenses might be covered by insurance, pain, suffering, and other painful experiences are often not.
Insurance policies are not limitless, and you may only be compensated up to the policy limits. If your medical damages exceed the policy limits, our Chicago car accident lawyers can help you explore other legal options, including filing a lawsuit.
Additional Insurance Options
You might have optional or supplemental insurance options to help you get additional compensation for your medical expenses. For example, if the other driver is uninsured or their insurance refuses to cover all your medical bills, you can rely on something like MedPay. MedPay is an optional coverage option designed specifically for paying medical bills after an accident. If you have trouble getting compensation for medical expenses and have MedPay, an attorney can help you begin a claim.
Another insurance policy you might take advantage of is uninsured motorist coverage. In some states, this policy is optional, but uninsured motorist coverage is required as part of the basic auto insurance plan in Illinois. This policy might come in handy if the other driver has no insurance to cover your medical expenses. It is also very helpful to drivers injured in hit and run accidents where the other driver cannot be located.
Lawsuit
For some, a lawsuit is the option of last resort. For others, lawsuits are started almost immediately. If you file a lawsuit, you have a limited time to begin your case. According to 735 I.L.C.S. § 5/13-202, the statute of limitations for personal injuries, including car accidents, is only 2 years. This might appear to be a long time to start a lawsuit, but it can be a tighter time crunch than you realize. We need time to assess your injuries, gather evidence, and prepare our initial complaint.
The upside to a lawsuit is that you can recover much greater compensation than insurance claims tend to offer. Insurance claims usually only cover certain economic damages, including medical expenses. A lawsuit might help you recover these losses in addition to non-economic damages for pain, suffering, humiliation, and more.
Lawsuits cannot survive without evidence. We need evidence of your injuries and treatment costs to recover medical expenses. Medical records and testimony from your doctor can be a big help in proving your damages. Our Aurora car accident lawyers can help you get your case started as soon as possible.
How to Evaluate Medical Expenses and Damages in a Car Accident Case in Illinois
Before our Illinois car accident lawyers make moves to recover your medical expenses after a car accident, we need to accurately assess your medical bills and other damages so that you get the maximum compensation possible. It is sometimes easier to assess medical bills in the order they were incurred.
First, we can start with emergency medical expenses from the day of your accident. Were you treated at the accident scene by EMTs? Were you transported to the hospital in an ambulance? Once you got to the hospital, did you undergo emergency surgery or other immediate treatment? While these treatments are often necessary and lifesaving, they are not cheap.
Next, we should examine the medical attention you received following emergency attention. For example, you might have been prescribed medications or given medical testing. Almost nothing is free at a hospital, and we can check itemized bills from the hospital where you were treated to determine the cost of treatment.
We also have to evaluate the costs of follow-up care and doctor visits. If your injuries are serious, you likely have to go back to the doctor to check in on your recovery progress. You might also need additional treatment or procedures in the future to help you fully recover. We can not only assess the value of follow-up care, but we can also estimate the costs of future treatment.
Contact Our Illinois Car Accident Lawyers for Help
Our Joilet, IL car accident attorneys are ready to help you take action to recover compensation for your medical expenses and additional damages. Call the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502 for a free case review with our team.
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