HOW IS MEDICAL TREATMENT PROVIDED ON A LIEN BASIS?

UNDERSTANDING MEDICAL TREATMENT PROVIDED ON A LIEN BASIS

Medical treatment provided on a lien basis allows patients to receive necessary healthcare services without upfront costs, deferring payment until after a personal injury settlement. This arrangement benefits those who cannot afford immediate medical expenses, ensuring they get the treatment they need while awaiting compensation. Medical providers agree to treat the patient with the understanding that they will be paid from the settlement proceeds. This process is particularly useful in personal injury cases where financial strains are common.

WHAT IS MEDICAL LIEN?

A medical lien is a contract between a patient and a medical provider in California. The medical practitioner works on credit under the lien arrangement, providing necessary medical care for the patient in exchange for the right to have those medical costs paid straight from a personal injury settlement or judgment.

Not every medical provider in California is willing to work on a medical lien, and those who do will usually only sign the form if the wounded individual lacks the financial means to pay for the necessary care.

HOW TO FIND A MEDICAL PROVIDER?

Finding medical professionals that will treat you on that basis is the most difficult aspect of medical liens in California. Because a medical provider who agrees to work on a medical lien intends to be reimbursed from the proceeds of a lawsuit, it may only treat patients who have strong legal claims.

Doctors, on the other hand, are not lawyers and are unlikely to be able to appraise a patient’s odds of success in court. That is why, in order to be treated on a lien basis, you should hire a reputable personal injury attorney who can assure the provider that you have a high probability of settling or winning your case.

HOW WILL YOU GET THE MEDICAL TREATMENT ON LIEN?

You will sign a contract lien agreement once a medical professional agrees to treat you on a medical lien. The medical provider may have a standard medical lien form that they employ on a regular basis. However, before you sign the paper, you should have your lawyer evaluate it and, if the language is too restricted, try to negotiate better conditions for you.

After signing the lien contract, the medical provider notifies the opposing party’s insurer to complete the lien. This allows them to pay the doctor or other medical provider immediately from any settlement or money judgment before you or your lawyer receives any.

PAYING MEDICAL LIENS IF YOU WIN

If you win a money verdict or a settlement for your injuries after signing a medical lien, the medical provider gets the money first.

What if the amount of the settlement does not cover all your liens, plus compensatory damages? Before advising you to accept any settlement offer, a competent attorney will consider the liens. You discuss the numbers as a group: How much you’d earn if you paid lien claimants their full claim value, and how much the liens would have to be lowered to make the remaining settlement amount acceptable to you.

Your attorney calls the lien holders to alert them of the pending offer and to negotiate how to make the settlement work before responding to the third-party settlement offer. Your attorney will obtain the necessary papers and finalise the settlement if they agree to reduce the amount of the liens.

PAYING MEDICAL LIENS IF YOU LOSE

It’s possible that you won’t win your lawsuit, or that your compensation won’t be enough to cover the lien. You will be responsible for the outstanding balance in that scenario. Medical providers, on the other hand, are frequently eager to work out a payment plan with patients rather than suing them for money.

We can assist you in negotiating advantageous payment conditions so that the doctor is compensated, and you are compensated for your ongoing care.

Joe Lavelle

Mr. Lavelle has significant, successful jury trial experience and is responsible for more than $30 million in jury verdicts and settlements. His most recent trial and settlement victories include:

$10.8 million dollar jury verdict against Pizza Hut on behalf of a mother and daughter seriously injured by a pizza delivery driver.
$1.75 million insurance bad faith case
$1.75 million injury case in Old Town, San Diego
$1.6 million recovery for a young women struck by a transit vehicle

$1.3 million design defect premises case
$1.4 million semi-tractor trailer injury
$1.25 million taxicab injury
$1.6 million for an elderly auto accident victim
$900,000+ recovery for a non-profit in a business dispute
$795,000 for a taxicab related injury
$750,000.00 settlement in products liability case
$750,000.00 for a student injured on the U.C. Berkeley campus
$750,000+ for a family injured on the I-405 in Los Angeles
$695,000 for a women rear-ended by a Sheriff’s Deputy
$300,000.00+ jury verdict for client who fell and was injured on a city bus
$600,000+ jury verdict for a 73-year-old woman who fell in a fast-food restaurant
$600,000+ for a Las Vegas client injured in an automobile accident in Laguna, California
$600,000+ for a husband and wife who suffered food poisoning
$700,000+ for three customers of a nail salon who were injured while receiving pedicures (furunculosis infection)

Mr. Lavelle works hand in hand with clients, getting to know and understand how his clients’ injuries impact not only their lives, but the lives of their families. Mr. Lavelle’s extra effort has helped him be so successful in winning multi-million-dollar verdicts, awards, and settlements for his clients. Call us to help you with car accident, auto accident recovery, motor vehicle accident recovery in San Diego or California.