Originally Posted by
desertdork
In the three month interim, can you please state how the medical billing was handled? ... Did the attorney stall any medical payments until the case was settled in full? Or perhaps you had to deal with the medical offices on your own?
Good question. I should have thought of that.
My lawyer told me to use my own health insurance for the claims and pay the deductibles myself, until the settlement. He warned me to not let any bills lapse because we needed the doctor's cooperation. Also to keep all receipts and send them to him. The Lawyer also paid the doctors a small fee for sending their records to him.
Not long after the incident happened, I got a form from my health insurance asking if my injury was the result of an accident and if anyone else was responsible. (you may have seen these before) I filled it out and told them the whole story as well as what my lawyer was doing. Insurance companies hire an agency to gather the records and negotiate with the lawyer for reimbursement.
So when the settlement came, the lawyer got 33% off the top, then he paid the amount that he and the agency working for my health insurer agreed to, then he sent me the rest. The money I got back was used to backfill my savings that went down due to paying my deductibles and copays. What was left was to make up for my lost wages and pain & suffering.