After experiencing an injury in a car accident in Washington state, you will need to consider how much this emergency care will cost. If you were the victim of another driver’s mistake, your recovery – no matter how long it takes – should be covered by the at-fault driver’s insurance provider.

Sadly, that expectation is not guaranteed when dealing with insurance adjusters after a car accident. Injury victims must often fight simply for what is fair. Hagens Berman takes up this fight for victims and helps hold insurance representatives accountable when they are often only interested in saving insurance companies money, not aiding you during your time of need.

With the right skilled personal injury attorney representing your claim, victims of car accidents can instead focus on recovery, while the Hagens Berman’s personal injury team goes to work earning every bit of compensation available from insurance providers to help you heal.

MINIMUM CAR ACCIDENT COVERAGE IN WASHINGTON

It’s important to know the minimum insurance requirements the state of Washington forces drivers to carry. This can quickly give you a baseline for how much insurance assistance you can expect after getting injured in an auto accident.

These are the minimums a driver must carry in the state of Washington:

  • Bodily injury liability coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability coverage: $10,000

Uninsured motorist injury coverage is generally included in any insurance policy issued to a Washington driver and amount to the coverage amounts as above. However, this coverage is not mandatory and can be rejected in writing by the driver following an accident.

These minimums may or may not cover all of the costs you face in recovery. If an accident involves more than one driver at fault, you could file a claim with multiple insurers after your car accident. This could help bring you closer to paying all of your medical bills, depending on your injuries. You may also have to file a claim with your own policy under your underinsured motorist coverage to make up the rest of the deficit.

PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION (PIP) IN WASHINGTON STATE CAR ACCIDENTS

Basic Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is also included as part of most car insurance coverage for Washington state drivers. However, it can also be denied in writing and taken off the policy if the motorist so chooses, potentially affecting how you are able to pay your medical bills following a crash and injury.

This coverage pays up to $10,000 in medical expenses for you and close family members injured in an accident. It can also help compensate wages the victim loses while out of work with an injury. This protection applies no matter if you caused the accident or someone else did.

MEDICAL LIENS IN WASHINGTON ACCIDENT CASES INVOLVING INJURY

After suffering an injury in a car accident, it’s your right to file a claim for damages against the responsible driver or drivers and their insurance companies to begin receiving compensation in order to pay any medical bills. Unfortunately, these claims may take a year or longer to resolve, and your hospital bills will be due long before you receive compensation.

When doctors ask to get paid, you can choose to utilize your health insurance to cover these bills or wait for the results of your insurance claim. When you put off paying your bills, your medical care providers often file for a medical lien against your prospective personal injury settlement to cover your bills. The lien ensures that doctors and your hospital bills get paid once you are awarded compensation.

However, if you decide to use your health insurance to pay the bills early, you would receive reimbursement for deductibles and other fees when your settlement check arrives.

There are disadvantages to waiting and allowing medical liens to be filed following your car accident injuries. If your injury claim is rejected or your lawsuit does not have a favorable outcome in court, you are still liable for your medical bills. By paying your invoices with your health insurance, your treatment comes at a contracted rate. However, when doctors file a lien, they often charge full price for their care. These enormous costs can fall to you if you lose your claim.

HAGENS BERMAN PROTECTS INJURED CAR ACCIDENT VICTIMS AND FIGHTS FOR MEDICAL BILL COVERAGE

Whether an individual or a family is involved in a simple, single-car accident or a complex situation involving many parties, personal injury attorneys at Hagens Berman can help.

Suffering an car accident injury can leave you feeling vulnerable and with little energy to mount a fight against the predatory practices of insurance companies. By trusting your injury case to the professionals at Hagens Berman, you get the time you need to heal while we focus on insurance adjusters to induce them to act in your best interest or risk having to appear before a judge and jury.

If you or a loved on has been injured in a car accident and has mounting medical bills, contact a Washington personal injury attorney today for a free and confidential case evaluation. If you allow Hagens Berman to represent your injury claim, we don’t get paid unless we win your case.