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#1
10-08-2009, 02:52 PM
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Slip and fall suit, does health insurance company get reimbursedWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL My question is I have a strong slip and fall case and basically the hospital bill was about $20,000 for hip surgery and my 10 day stay. I do have health insurance and they will only pay around $15,000 because of my high deductibles and co-pay. Someone I know who knew of someone who also had a serious slip and fall told me he thinks that any judgment I get will need to go pay off my health insurance company first. This doesn't seem right to me. For example, lets say I get a $60,000 out of court settlement, well my friend is claiming that first the attorney would get $20,000, blue cross and blue shied would get their $15,000 back and then I would finally get $25,000. Does this seem right or is this what usually happens? If so, how would blue cross even know about a settlement? Thanks |
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#2
10-08-2009, 02:55 PM
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| Seems right to me...call up a criminal defense attorney and ask about the penalties for insurance fraud.
__________________ * * The information I gave is based on my 7 seconds of research on Google. Review the information yourself to make an informed decision. Communication is KEY - 10 mins of talking now can save you months of headaches later! Masterfully stating the obvious to the oblivious! (Thanks SP!) Tell it like it is! When all else fails, make up a statistic!  Gender references shall apply equally to the other gender. I will not correct gender mistakes (unless I want to) |
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#3
10-08-2009, 03:06 PM
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| In a lawsuit, ALL damaged parties are entitled to be made whole. Your health insurance was damaged also (had to pay your bills) and is entitled to recover that money before you get to put anything in your pocket. You need to keep this in mind when deciding whether to accept any settlement.
__________________ Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves. -Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE! |
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#4
10-08-2009, 04:31 PM
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| Although a good attorney can sometimes convince the insurance company to only take a percentage of what they're owed. (Locally, you can expect such negotiations to knock off anywhere up to 1/3 of the total. No idea what would happen in your area).
__________________ Quote:
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#5
10-09-2009, 12:02 PM
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Let me ask you guys thisObviously, I'm not a lawyer, but can a settlement be structured as compensentory and punitive damages? I would think that if I did have a jury trial and I was awarded $20,000 for compensatory damages and $40,000 for punitive damages that the health insurance company wouldn't be able to touch the punitive end of it since that was for my pain and suffering. Logic would then tell me if I received a settlement that it should be stated that part of the settlement is for pain and suffering and the other is for compensatory damages and of course the health insurance company would have a say in receiving reimbursement of the compensatory damages. Does this make sense? |
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#6
10-09-2009, 12:22 PM
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| Pain and suffering IS compensatory damages. Punitive damages can ONLY be awarded by a court and only in extremely extenuating circumstances which probably do not apply here. Look, you are not entitled to get rich off this. You get reimbursed for your medical bills (including what your health insurance will be owed), lost wages, and compensation for any permanent loss in function from your injuries, including what future medical expenses might cost. All you have to do is find out what you'll owe your health insurance when all this is done and make sure your settlement is enough to cover it and still leave you a fair settlement. It's really that simple.
__________________ Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves. -Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE! |
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#7
10-09-2009, 12:25 PM
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| Quote:
__________________ * * The information I gave is based on my 7 seconds of research on Google. Review the information yourself to make an informed decision. Communication is KEY - 10 mins of talking now can save you months of headaches later! Masterfully stating the obvious to the oblivious! (Thanks SP!) Tell it like it is! When all else fails, make up a statistic! Gender references shall apply equally to the other gender. I will not correct gender mistakes (unless I want to) |
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#8
10-09-2009, 12:29 PM
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| While the structure can be manipulated a bit (the complaint will still rule), punitives are taxable.
__________________ When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it. --W. T. Pooh (aka A. A. Milne) |
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#9
10-09-2009, 08:03 PM
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Thanks everyone for the helpIt was really appreciated. |
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#10
10-11-2009, 06:15 PM
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| wow...so you don't want to pay back the medical bills...I think in your case you might want to have the people at fault send a check directly to your insurer just to protect yourself...heck...most insurers will cover your bills in this kind of case anyway so you have no out of pocket expense...it's called subrogation... |
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