I was injured in a car accident through no fault of my own. Is it true I can get paid twice for my medical bills and keep the difference?
Maybe, sometimes more (generally speaking under Virginia law.) The answer to this question depends on the type of health insurance you have. Virginia law states that you do not have to pay back health insurance, sold to you in Virginia, out of personal injury proceeds UNLESS your health insurance is taxpayer funded, such as Medicaid.
Virginia also requires you to pay back Workers’ Comp if you have a third-party recovery. Federal law also requires you to pay back taxpayer funded health insurance such as Medicare and federal employees’ insurance. Federal law also requires that you pay back health coverage that qualifies as an ERISA plan.
If you have a regular plan of health insurance that you or your employer has purchased, FIRST, your health insurance should pay your medical bills. SECOND, the at-fault driver will then have to pay you 100% of your medical bills related to the crash. Your medical bills may be paid to you a THIRD time if you have medical benefits on your car insurance policy. (This is considered a no-fault coverage, so using it should not raise your insurance rates.) A FOURTH time may be possible if you have additional accident or injury coverage such as AFLAC. You need to check the policies to see what they cover.
This is not a complete answer. Each case is different and the answers may vary. We can check your insurance coverage and explain in more detail.
Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys:
We concentrate our personal injury practice in vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death cases, slip and falls, and animal bites.
Please contact us if you’ve been injured. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation. We have four convenient office locations: Charlottesville, Lake Monticello, Harrisonburg & Staunton.
If you’re too injured to come in, we’ll be happy to meet you at the hospital or your home. We will fight to get you the full value of your case.
 Car Accident Attorney |
