unpaid medical bills after case settled

[luxury_inc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois
My timid friend asked me to speak with her attorney. He recently negotiated a small settlement for her personal injury case. Shortly after she signed the settlement - the attorney informed her that there is an unpaid medical bill, the insurance company refused to pay it because the referral from her primary physician to this specialist is nowhere to be found. So the attorney sent this hurt and unsophisticated woman to find it by going to the various doctor's offices under whose care she was, of course she did not find it. Do we have a leg to stand on? is he negligent and responsible by not addressing the issue of an outstanding bill prior to settling the case? can we ask the attorney to use his professional means to find this referral himself, negotiate with the doctor, reduce his own fee; not pay the bill before disbursing the settlement to my friend? She incurred other bills during her recuperation from this injury, she will not be able to pay them if her attorney uses the settlement money for this medical bill. The settlement is very small. Thank you.

 

[justalayman]

I do not see the problem. If her primary physician referred her to this specialist, the PCP would have a record of it. She can ask her PCP.

 

[JETX]

The settlement is very small.

The size of the settlement is NOT relevant. Any claims (medical or otherwise) paid by insurance or not paid at all, are still her obligation and she is responsible for payment.

 

[luxury_inc]

Thank you senior members.
The original PCP her insurance company assigned her to died suddenly, there was a chaotic time before the office got another doctor. After unsuccessful phone calls she went to the office personally to ask for a copy of the referral, she was told that her file was at some other clinic. She went to that clinic where she and an office assistant looked through the whole file, they did not find the referral.
My friend did not refer herself, so there must be a slip somewhere! One of the things my friend is asking me to do is to persuade her attorney to use his expertise and the right vocabulary to contact the PCP so that the document is found or a duplicate made of the lost one.
The insurance company is willing to pay the specialist but requires the referal, without it she will go bankrupt

 

[luxury_inc]

HI,
There is a point I made in my reply that can be misleading: ".....After unsuccessful phone calls she went to the office personally to ask for a copy of the referral...." she did that just last month when she found out that a bill could not be paid by the insurance company without finding the referral slip, she got the actual referral to the specialist some 3 years ago.

 

[justalayman]

well, there are only 2 places the record of the referral could be, that I can think of:

1. the PCP's office and she has been there.

2. the doctor that she was referred to.

If it is at neither, I don't know what else she can do.