Why the name of your medical insurer is important
This post is part of the firm’s section titled What Personal injury Client’s Should Know section. Please be sure to read the posts in this section.
If you are a personal injury client, you might think the process of litigation is simple. We have already discussed the expected time period of litigation. In addition to that time period, you might nevertheless believe the process of litigation goes something like this.
- You get injured
- You obtain a lawyer
- Defendant pays out money for your damages or you obtain a verdict
However, like most things in life, it is more complicated. One thing clients do not often realize is we will need to know the name of your insurance provider. We are talking about your medical insurance provider.
Why we need to know the name of your insurance provider?
It has everything to do with a concept in law called subrogation. Subrogation means that a portion of the settlement or verdict in your case is paid to the insurance provider. This amount is to compensate your insurance provider for the amount of money they paid for your treatment made unnecessary by the defendant’s negligent or wrongful acts.
Of course this is ridiculous and no portion of your settlement should be given you any insurance provider. You pay for that insurance in the form of premiums. So, the insurance provider has already been compensated in the form of your premiums for the treatment you received.
We get it. we agree. But, we practice the law. We do not make the law. So, subrogation is something we have to deal with. It applies whether you have private insurance through an employer, or Medicaid or Medicare.
If you have private medical insurance
If you have a private insurance provider, we will request the name of said insurance provider, policy number (if you know it), and any contact information you have for said provider.
Depending upon what your provider’s own specific requirements are, we might need you to sign a few more provider specific authorization forms. This is in addition to the HIPA form you will have already been requested to sign.
If you have Medicare Medicaid
If you have Medicaid or Medicare, we will have to have you sign a
- Medicaid representation form, and
- A Medicaid release of authorization form.
These forms inform Medicaid that we represent you in your case, and shows Medicaid and/or Medicare that you authorize them to release information to us, respectively.
Will a defendant settle without my insurance provider’s information
No. Defendants will not make settlement offers to plaintiffs without first receiving this information. the reason is, under the law, if the defendant knows that a plaintiff has had treatment paid by a medical insurance provider, and said treatment was made necessary due to the defendant’s actions or inactions, the insurance provider can later come back at the defendant and demand compensation for the treatment provided.
Contact The Lockwood Legal Group, LLC today!
If you think you might have a case, it is crucial you contact a qualified attorney right away. We understand litigation is often daunting to those who are not attorneys. but rest assured, we will be here for you all throughout the process. No one fights harder for their clients then attorneys of The Lockwood Legal Group, LLC.
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