You probably know how expensive an accident can be if you have been injured recently in a motorcycle accident. The cost to repair or replace your motorcycle can pale in comparison to the extensive medical bills which may result from your injuries.
Many motorcycle accident victims wonder if their motorcycle crash-related medical expenses will be covered by their health insurance. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, your medical expenses may be covered by your health insurance.
Your Medical Expenses May Come Out of Your Settlement
If you recover damages after filing a motorcycle accident claim, your health insurance company may request that its costs be covered by part of your settlement or judgment.
You should check the language in your health insurance policy to ensure it covers you if you are injured in a motorcycle accident. Unfortunately, many motorcyclists who are injured by irresponsible drivers don’t have the right insurance to pay for their medical bills. Sometimes, motorcyclists have no coverage or only minimal coverage.
Until your motorcycle accident claim is settled, the other driver’s insurance company and your motorcycle insurance company probably won’t agree on who is responsible for paying your medical bills. This can cause your medical expenses to pile up as you recover from your injuries, leaving you in a very stressful situation.
Expenses Your Health Insurance May Cover
Health insurance will usually cover some motorcycle accident injury-related expenses. What will be covered will depend on your individual health insurance policy. You may be eligible to be reimbursed by your health insurance for:
- Examinations: You will require examinations to determine the extent of your injuries if you have been hurt in a motorcycle crash. Your health insurance might cover these examinations.
- X-rays: You may have broken bones if you have been in a motorcycle accident, and X-rays of these broken bones may be covered by your health insurance.
- Prescription medications: You may need prescription pain medication after being in a motorcycle accident and this medication might be paid for by your health insurance.
- Hospital stays: Motorcycle accidents can cause very severe injuries which require hospitalization and any time you spend in the hospital might be covered by your health insurance.
The exact coverage that you will receive depends on your policy and your health insurance provider, and it is not likely that all of your motorcycle crash-related expenses will be covered by your health insurance.
Medicare or Medicaid Coverage for Motorcycle Accident Injuries
If you have Medicare or Medicaid, your coverage might pay for medical expenses relating to a motorcycle collision. However, your healthcare providers can choose to seek payment from your future motorcycle accident settlement rather than billing Medicaid or Medicare.
Be sure to give the hospital your Medicare or Medicaid information if you go to the hospital after a motorcycle crash. If Medicare or Medicaid pays for your medical bills, Medicare or Medicaid can try to recover what they paid via a lien against your motorcycle accident settlement.
Your lawyer can explain the details of how a Medicare or Medicaid lien can affect your case and the right way to handle a lien.
What Your Health Insurance May NOT Cover
You may be reimbursed for some expenses by your health insurance company. However, you will likely end up having to pay some motorcycle accident-related expenses out of your own pocket. Your health insurance probably won’t cover:
- Deductible and co-pay: You may be required by your health insurance policy to pay co-pays. You may also be required to meet a deductible before your health insurance starts to pay for your treatment. Your health insurance policy might even contain an out-of-pocket maximum, and you might have to pay at least a portion of your medical bills up to this maximum. You should examine your health insurance policy for details about what it covers.
- All of your medical bills: Even once you’ve paid your co-pays and met your deductible, there might be other medical expenses your insurance won’t cover, such as occupational therapy or physical therapy that might help you after a motorcycle accident.
- Non-medical costs: You may, in addition to medical bills, incur extra costs, like transportation expenses, motorcycle repairs, etc.
- Loss of income: Health insurance policies usually don’t cover lost income that results from your injuries.
- Emotional and physical suffering: Motorcycle accidents can be traumatic, and this trauma can cause emotional and physical turmoil. Emotional and physical suffering are usually not covered by health insurance companies.
Your health insurance also probably won’t cover:
- New technologies
- Off-label prescriptions
- Pain
You may be able to obtain funds for these extra expenses by seeking a payout from the at-fault party’s auto insurance company.
What if I Don’t Have Health Insurance?
Many Americans lack health insurance. These Americans might not be able to pay their medical bills after being injured in a motorcycle accident. This is extremely common. Your lawyer might be able to help you in obtaining medical treatment from a qualified physician, who specializes in severe injuries, on a medical lien.
What Is a Medical Lien?
If you lack health insurance, or if your health insurance doesn’t cover all of the medical treatments you require after your motorcycle accident, your healthcare provider might be willing to treat you under a medical lien agreement.
A medical lien is an agreement where your doctor agrees to treat you now and let you pay them a portion of your motorcycle accident settlement after your receive your settlement. Essentially, when you and your doctor sign a lien, your doctor agrees to treat you on credit, knowing you might end up receiving a large enough settlement to be able to pay them back in the future.
If you sign a lien with your doctor, it can effectively allow you to afford medical treatment that you may not be able to afford with your current health insurance.
What Is Motorcycle Liability Insurance?
Motorcycle liability insurance, as you might expect from its name, covers motorcyclists when they ride their motorcycle. You are required to carry motorcycle insurance when you ride a motorcycle in California. You should thus examine your insurance policy to see if you are covered by it.
If you lack motorcycle liability insurance, you may be able to obtain it from insurance companies such as Progressive or GEICO, or you may be able to obtain it from motorcycle companies such as Harley Davidson. You should shop around to find out where you can receive the most coverage for the lowest price.
Motorcycle liability insurance works just like traditional auto insurance. However, it can be more expensive due to the extra risk that riding a motorcycle entails. You are prepared for the challenges faced by motorcyclists when you possess the proper motorcycle insurance.
Motorcyclists are more likely to be injured than those who drive other vehicles since they aren’t protected by a vehicle shell surrounding them.
Medical insurance coverage for motorcycles can cover many bills that won’t be covered by a health insurance company. It is best that you understand the entirety of both your health insurance and motorcycle insurance policy. Our motorcycle accident attorneys can help you find out what is covered by your medical insurance.
How Can a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Help Me?
You should not feel like your medical expenses are a burden if your motorcycle accident was caused by the negligence of another driver. Negligence is failing to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent harm from occurring. Examples of negligence include speeding and breaking other traffic laws.
If your motorcycle wreck was caused by someone else’s negligence, then the auto insurance company representing the at-fault driver should pay all of the expenses that result from your accident, including your medical bills. Unfortunately, insurance companies are in the business of making a profit, so they are often reluctant or unwilling to pay accident victims what they are actually entitled to under California law.
At Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers, we have spent over 30 years helping motorcycle accident victims like you obtain every penny of financial compensation that they deserve for their injuries and other expenses. When you work with our expert, experienced legal team, we can do the following for you:
- Gather evidence to present a compelling case: Insurance companies often refuse to pay injured motorcyclists what they deserve for their injuries, saying that they need more evidence, such as proof of your motorcycle accident-related expenses, and proof that their insured was at fault for your accident. We can assist you in evidence gathering in order to bolster your motorcycle accident claim and increase the amount of financial compensation you receive.
- Negotiate and communicate with the insurance company representing the at-fault driver: We will handle all communications with insurance companies for you so you can focus on recovering from your injuries. This is important because insurance adjusters are trained to trick injury victims into saying things that imply they were at fault for their own accidents or that their injuries aren’t as severe as they claim. We will communicate with insurance companies for you so you don’t have to worry about accidentally incriminating yourself on the phone with them. Our decades of legal experience also allow us to negotiate effectively and confidently on behalf of our clients.
- Represent your interests in court: We can represent you in court if the at-fault driver’s insurance company refuses to offer you an adequate settlement. We can prove to a judge or jury why an insurer should offer you more money.
Do I Need a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
You need a motorcycle accident lawyer if you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, the accident wasn’t your fault, and your injuries are more severe than simple cuts and bruises.
You will likely need to have at least some of your expenses covered by the at-fault driver’s insurance company after a motorcycle accident. The thing is, that insurance company does not want to pay you what you deserve. They want to pay you as little as possible or nothing at all, because their profit margin is more important to them than your well-being.
Insurers simply will not offer you a fair settlement offer if you aren’t represented by a lawyer, as they have no motivation to in this case. They know your only alternative to accepting a lowball offer is to sue them over the offer being too small, and they know you can’t beat their expensive lawyers in court if you don’t have a lawyer of your own.
In other words, they won’t offer you what you deserve if you don’t have a lawyer because they won’t respect you.
Oftentimes, however, the mere act of hiring a lawyer is enough to convince an insurance company to offer an injury victim a fair settlement. In fact, most of our cases are settled out of court because of our long track record of success in court. Insurance companies know that they will lose in court against us, so they choose to settle out of court with us instead to avoid paying expensive legal fees.
Contact Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Today
The answer to, “Will my motorcycle accident injuries be covered by health insurance?” is yes. However, you might not receive compensation for all of your expenses from your health insurance company.
Instead, you might need to also seek financial compensation from the auto insurance company representing the at-fault driver. Experienced motorcycle accident lawyers like those at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can help you do this.
For more information about the legal services that we provide for motorcycle accident victims, call us, text us, or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation. We don’t charge a fee unless and until we win your case.
