After a car crash, you will need to rely on your own health insurance for emergency room and hospital treatment. This will be true for any type of catastrophic injury caused by someone else—be it a slip on an unmopped floor or a dog bite. It will also be true even if you later succeed in securing a personal injury settlement from the at-fault driver. When you need immediate care, you must pay for that care with the most readily available resource.
As you know, however, even the best health insurance policy won’t cover everything. Co-pays and cost-sharing will fall on you. Payments for surgeries and prescriptions the insurance company considers experimental, optional, or unnecessary will come out of your pocket. All too often, your insurance policy simply excludes coverage for certain procedures and medication
So what can you do?
The first step will be working through the claims appeal process with your insurer. This takes time, and it almost always produces frustration. When no number of phone calls, emails, or sharing of medical files suffices to get medical costs covered, it is time to consult with a Columbus insurance claims lawyer.
If you are recovering from a car crash, it will be particularly beneficial to reach out to a denied insurance claim lawyer who also handles personal injury cases. Enlisting the assistance of such a legal ally will help you cut through red tape with your own health insurance provider and file strong auto insurance claims against the negligent or reckless driver who injured you.
A denied insurance claim lawyer who has experience advising and representing car crash victims will also be able to ensure that coverage provided by your health insurer does not reduce the settlement from the at-fault driver’s auto insurer. Ohio personal injury law allows crash victims to file claims for all past and future medical costs. When an auto insurance policy pays out for medical expenses, the health insurer is supposed to recover the money it spent on its policyholder from the auto insurer. A knowledgeable, experienced, and caring plaintiff’s attorney will make sure that happens.
Cory Heit of Heit Law knows health insurance and auto insurance inside-out. Let him know if he can be of service by calling him at (614) 898-5300 or scheduling an appointment online. From his offices in Westerville, Corey works with clients in Columbus and throughout central Ohio. The initial consultation will cost you nothing.
