Should My Personal Injury Attorney Direct My Medical Care?
Lawyers are trained in law, not medicine. Lawyers who direct care away from the best available options do their clients a great disservice; their primary objective should be to help the clients recover from their injuries. Furthermore, insurance companies and juries are naturally suspicious of healthcare treatment that looks like it was performed only because the lawyer wanted it done, not a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.
On the other hand, experienced personal injury attorneys understand how claims are evaluated, and can secure treatment options that might otherwise not be available to the client. In addition, if a client is receiving the same kind of treatment without improving, the lawyer can suggest doctors who could provide “second opinions” and alternative treatment modalities and options. They can also help with payment options for care not covered by insurance.
Health Insurance May Not Be Enough
Most would agree that health insurance in the United States seems to be covering less and less each day. Sometimes, the injury victim has no health insurance, or the health insurance provider does not cover the treatment that he or she needs. Other times, even if the necessary treatment is “covered,” the co-insurance or copayment amounts are too high for the client to afford. The insurer may also place limits on the number of visits covered, limits that have nothing to do with whether or not the treatment is necessary. In those circumstances, your lawyer can help you locate a healthcare treatment provider who will provide treatment “on a lien,” which means they agree to wait to be paid until the resolution of the case. Securing treatment on a lien allows many people who could not otherwise afford treatment receive the treatment necessary to heal from the auto accident.
Avoid Unnecessary or Unreasonable Treatment
An obvious concern many have with lawyers directing their clients’ healthcare treatment is that the lawyers will send their clients to providers who artificially inflate the clients’ medical bills with unnecessary or unreasonable treatment and charges. Insurance companies use sophisticated databases to track where individual lawyers’ clients’ receive treatment in an effort to pinpoint “suspicious” relationships between lawyers and healthcare providers.
Monitor Rather than Direct Healthcare
At Springs Law Group, our philosophy is to monitor healthcare treatment rather than direct it. We assume your healthcare providers are the experts on what your body needs to recovery from auto-related injuries. However, if our clients feel like a given healthcare provider is not helpful, we can provide direction on seeking second opinions or different approaches to treatment. We can help the client find ways to get the treatment they need even when there is no health insurance or the insurance is inadequate. Our primary objective is to make sure the client gets the treatment they need for their accident-related injuries.
If you have questions about getting treatment for your accident-related injuries, we can talk to you about the options available to you and the pros and cons of each. Give us a call to set up a free consultation.