Medical Expenses

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After a serious auto accident, medical expenses like doctors’ bills, hospital stays, and ambulance fees can add up quickly. It can be easy to get caught up in the system. You could find yourself trapped between medical providers trying to collect their fees and an insurance company that just won’t pay.

Covered Medical Expenses


Michigan has one of the best no fault insurance laws in the country. It requires insurance providers to cover all medical expenses related to your accident with no limit. If you are seriously injured in a car crash and owe millions of dollars in medical debt, the insurance company and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) are required to pay all of it.

But the insurance companies and their lawyers aren’t the type to go down without a fight. They have honed their abilities to carve out exceptions by claiming that your injuries weren’t caused by the accident or that your care was not medically necessary. Here are just a few of their tactics:

Failure to Disclose Injuries


Very shortly after your accident, an insurance adjuster will contact you and ask you to describe your injuries. Sometimes, especially in brain injury cases, that call even comes before your doctors are done diagnosing your injuries. If you forget to mention that you hit your head or that you bruised your elbow, when it is later discovered that you suffered a traumatic brain injury or a hairline fracture, the insurance company will claim that it doesn’t have to cover it since you didn’t report the injury when asked.

Pre-Existing Conditions


If you have any medical history before the accident, the insurance company may claim that your medical expenses weren’t a result of the auto accident. Michigan law allows you to recover if your condition gets worse because of your car crash, but this is an issue that often will have to be taken to trial since the insurance companies will almost always dispute the claims.

“Independent” Medical Examinations


Michigan court rules allow a defendant in any personal injury case, including an auto accident lawsuit, to have an independent medical expert examine the injured party and issue an opinion regarding the injuries.

Because the car insurance industry does so many of these “independent” medical examinations, there are doctors out there who make a lot of money reviewing cases for the insurance industry. They almost always determine that injuries were not related to the accident or have reached their maximum healing potential.

The insurance industry will use every trick it can to avoid paying your medical expenses after an accident. That is why you need expert auto lawyers like the team at Christensen Law to fight back against their deceptive tactics. If you have been in an an auto accidentcontact Christensen Law early, before the insurance company has a chance to build its case against you.