Do You Have to Use Your Personal Injury Settlement for Medical Bills?

When you win your personal injury settlement, it might feel like you can finally breathe easier. Before you filed your claim, you may have been buried under medical bills and now you have the means to pay them. Once the money is in your hands, you may wonder what you can do with it. Is the money regulated? Do you have to pay your bills?

Medical Bills

As a victim of a serious injury, you may have extensive medical bills. Before your settlement, you still have to be on time with your bills. If you have any leftover bills following the settlement, you should always pay the hospital. After all, part of your compensation is for the injuries that you had treated medically.

If your bills were paid by your health insurance, your insurance may put a lien on your settlement. The insurance company has a right to be compensated for the amount that they paid to the hospital. When your insurance company pays your medical bills, you only have to pay them the discounted rate that they paid the doctors or hospital.

Your personal injury settlement should be able to cover any outstanding hospital bills. While you can choose where you spend the money, it is always a wiser decision to get out from under your hospital bills. If you have leftover money or money from other types of damages, you can spend the money however you want to.

Lawyer Fees

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you do not pay him or her until you receive your settlement. Keep in mind that a percentage of your settlement will go to the lawyer. You and your attorney will decide how much you will pay him or her before the case begins. The amount you owe will generally be between 30 and 33% of the final settlement. Keep this in consideration when you plan for your personal injury settlement.

You have the freedom to use your settlement how you wish. Most of the time, you will have already paid many of your medical bills. The settlement is compensation for what you had to pay or what you would have had to pay. If you already paid your bills, then you won’t have to pay them twice. However, it is recommended that you pay your medical bills with the funds. To find out more about your settlement, consult with a personal injury lawyer in Sebastian, FL, like from Tuttle Law, today.