Car accidents can have ripple effects across your entire life, and many accident victims deal with the fallout for months or even longer. Medical expenses are a significant hurdle to many car accident survivors, and recovering damages is not always easy.
Drivers are required to carry auto insurance, and insurance companies are often the first party we turn to when trying to recover damages. You might also have supplemental insurance options, like MedPay or uninsured motorist coverage, that can cover you in ways your standard insurance does not. If the other driver is uninsured, they might have to pay for your damages out of their own pockets. How you recover medical expenses also depends on how much money these expenses are worth. The extent of your injuries, treatment, and long-term complications might drive up costs. Many injured victims accept lump sum or structured settlements, although there might be additional options for payment.
Medical expenses often comprise a large portion of a plaintiff’s damages after a car accident. Our Mississippi car accident lawyers can help you determine the best way to recover damages. For a free case review, call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
Who Covers Your Medical Expenses After a Car Accident in Mississippi
The defendant might be held liable in court or agree to a settlement, but they are often not the one paying for anything. Insurance companies tend to cover most of your damages, but the defendant might have to pay out of pocket in certain circumstances. Our Mississippi car accident lawyers can help you determine who should pay and how.
Auto Insurance
Car insurance claims are common, and all drivers on the road must carry auto insurance that meets state-imposed minimum requirements. States tend to fall under one of two insurance systems: no-fault systems and fault-based systems.
Under a no-fault insurance system, a driver would file a claim with their own insurance, often under some sort of personal injury protection policy or coverage. In no-fault states, you do not have to prove fault, and you can recover compensation through your insurance regardless of who caused the crash. Mississippi is a fault-based system where drivers must file third-party claims through the other driver’s insurance to get coverage. On top of that, drivers must present evidence to the insurance company that the other driver is at fault.
Under Mississippi’s fault-based insurance system, the extent of compensation might depend on the other driver’s policy. At a bare minimum, the other driver’s policy should meet the state-imposed minimum requirements. If the other driver’s policy covers greater damages, you might recover greater compensation.
Unfortunately, many injured drivers face a problem when they discover the defendant is uninsured. In that case, our Mississippi personal injury lawyers can help you figure out how to get compensation from someone able to pay.
Supplemental Insurance
You might be in a situation where the other driver does not have insurance, or their insurance coverage is insufficient to pay all your damages. In such instances, you can turn to supplemental insurance options. Remember that these insurance options are not required by law, and you might only be covered if you opt into these policies.
MedPay is an additional insurance option that can cover certain medical expenses for the policyholder, certain named drivers, and passengers. MedPay is specifically designed to help injured car accident victims pay for medical expenses, including deductibles and copays associated with health insurance.
If the defendant was uninsured at the time of the accident, you can turn to your uninsured motorist policy if you have it. This policy might cover certain economic damages, including medical bills, if the driver who hit you does not have insurance with which you can file a claim. How much coverage you get depends on the terms of your policy.
Finally, you might also have medical expenses paid for by health insurance. Many people have health insurance through their jobs or buy it independently. Health insurance can help you cover the bulk of your medical expenses, but you might still be left with high copays and deductibles you cannot afford. Our Hattiesburg car accident lawyers can help you hold the defendant accountable for their negligence and make them cover your damages.
The Other Driver
If all else fails, our team can help you sue the driver who hit you and make them pay for your medical expenses out of their own pockets. Although this is not necessarily ideal, it might be the only option where the defendant has no insurance and the plaintiff cannot turn to supplemental insurance options.
Having the defendant personally pay for your medical expenses might be problematic if your medical bills and other damages are very high. If the defendant does not have enough money to cover everything or refuses to pay, we might need to get creative. It might be possible to have the court place a lien on the defendant’s assets or even garnish their wages until your medical bills are paid.
Evaluating Damages Related to Medical Bills in Mississippi Car Accident Cases
Before determining who should pay for your medical expenses after a car accident, we need to assess your damages and determine how much money you deserve to be paid. While medical expenses are typically categorized as economic damages, there often overlap with and are accompanied by non-economic damages.
The extent of your injuries from the car accident is a major determining factor in the value of your damages. Serious injuries usually require more extensive medical treatment, and this kind of treatment is usually expensive. Insurance often covers economic damages, including medical bills, at least to a certain extent. If your medical bills are especially high, they might exceed insurance policy limits, and our Gulfport car accident lawyers can help you figure out where to get additional compensation.
If your injuries involve long-term medical complications, you might also experience significant physical and emotional pain and suffering. These kinds of injuries do not always cost money, but they deserve financial compensation. The more intense your pain and suffering and the more they affect your life, the greater your damages should be. Non-economic damages are typically not covered by auto or health insurance, and a lawsuit might be the best way to get these injuries paid for.
Contact Our Mississippi Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Review of Your Case
Medical expenses after a car accident can be exorbitantly high, and our Jackson car accident lawyers can help you get paid for these injuries. For a free case review, call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
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