Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
How to settle a claim with medicare
I am about to settle a case by myself from an insurance company without representation. I have spoken to numerous lawyers and came to the conclusion that it was to my benefit to settle the case on my own.My wife and I was in an accident while we were crossing the street, we were hit by an automobile.The person only had 25/50 coverage and so the only money the insurance co.will give is a total of 50k each. Our medical bills has already reached past the 100k barrier. The person who hit us has no money,doesn't own any property and I don't want to wait 1-2 years for a settlement/judgement. He might file for bankruptcy and all the wait was for nothing. The question I have here is, How do I settle the bills with medicare/hospitals on my own? Since the 100k that we both have total should be for our pain and suffering. I want to be fair about settling the bills with medicare but I think that I should have some compensation for ourselves. Who knows about the future..Is the 100k the only amount that the insurance company is liable for?(No umbrella)
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: How to settle a claim with medicare
I do not have any personal experience settling claims with Medicare so someone else will have to answer that part of your question but I can tell you that the insurance company does not have to pay anything over the policy amount.
Re: How to settle a claim with medicare
Medi care is entitled to a full reimbursement regardless of the recovery. However, when an attorney is envovled and is charging the full 1/3 contingency fee privat insurance companies are required by law to reduce their lien by a third to account for attorneys fees. I have dealt with similar situations and the insurance is almost always willing to reduce if the attorney has also reduced to put more money in the clients pocket. I handled one case where Blue Cross reduced from $12,000 to $3,000 because I also reduced my fee. An attorney knows the laws regarding reduction and knows how much he can get someone to reduce. Since all that is left is reducing Medi-Cares lien I would be able to help you accomplish that for only 5% of your recovery. This may seem like a lot of money but in reality if you do not hire an attorney you may be looking at recovering no money at all. Since this is a reduced fee Medi-Care may take this into account and reduce their lien so that you can put some money in your pocket. If you would like to discuss this option and what I would do for that 5% you can call me toll free at 888-563-8529. The consultation is free and even if you do not wish to hire me I may be able to help you work out a battle plan, so to speak, on how to put some money in your pocket. I look forward to speaking with you.
John Hayes
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