When you are injured in an auto accident and you have auto or health insurance your insurance is usually the first to pay out benefits on your behalf. In Oregon if you have auto insurance you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) on your auto policy. PIP pays medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. Initially you may be frustrated that the opposing insurance company is not paying for your bills and lost wages. However, that frustration usually turns to relief once you realize how daunting the process is in recovering damages from an adverse insurance company for your personal injury claim.

The tradeoff with PIP or your health insurance company is that you may be required to pay back the companies that paid out benefits on your behalf. This “lien” against your claim can affect the most important part of your claim, how much money you will receive for the recovery of your damages.

When someone is injured in an auto accident and receives payment for their damages from the responsible party they are often times required to pay back parties that paid benefits on their behalf. For example, a parties’ health care provider will seek repayment of the amount it paid on behalf of an insured that resulted from an accident. You may ask: why you would have to pay back your health care provider back when you paid them a costly premium to cover you in the first place? The answer: The reason you have to pay them back because they have a right of subrogation in your insurance policy.

“This “lien” against your claim can affect the most important part of your claim, how much money you will receive for the recovery of your damages.”

These “liens” are just one of many reasons that people should seek a personal injury attorney when dealing with an injury claim.

These issues become much more complicated when dealing with Medicare, Medicade, Workers Compensation Carriers, or any other government run or regulated Health Care policies (i.e. ERISA plans). If liens are not properly handled they can delay settlement in a personal injury claim for months and even potentially years. Also, the injured party may lost future coverage with their medical provider or incur a debt for the cost of future medical expenses.

The bottom line: When you are injured in an automobile or any other accident you need to be aware of the other insurance policies involved.