Ultimately, those responsible for a tragic death would be liable for any medical bills built up before a victim passed on. But families can be made to wait for support while doctor and hospital bills come due.
Families coping with emotional trauma and financial damages may have to rely on the victim’s health insurance coverage to keep bill collectors off their backs. In some cases, families can ask doctors and hospitals to work under a medical lien, agreeing to get paid once a wrongful death settlement has been worked out.
A skilled Bakersfield wrongful death lawyer can assist families struggling with these issues and help them work out the payment of remaining medical expenses after a tragedy. We offer a free case consultation to all family members. This meeting comes with no obligation and is always confidential.
When You Should Hire a Lawyer for a Wrongful Death Case
Wrongful death claims are often complicated. The potential of high settlement amounts can scare insurance adjusters for those at fault and cause them to fight very hard to avoid responsibility.
Families can require help in paying for a funeral, paying any leftover bills for hospital care. These bills often show up just as families lose the income a deceased victim may have always supported the family with. These damages should be compensated by insurance companies, but instead, insurers can try to shift blame in an accident, simply to have an excuse to leave a family with nothing. Insurers can also delay support, trying to get a discount.
A lawyer is a safeguard against these tactics. A lawyer also handles the frustrating claims process while allowing close relatives time to mourn in peace. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield would also focus on getting families relief from medical expenses while they waited for insurers to do what’s right.
Families are permitted to file claims themselves, but a lawyer is often able to secure much more for those left behind. A lawyer is also able to put pressure on unfair insurance companies to force them to stop delaying coverage.
Families Can Learn More in a Free, No Obligation Wrongful Death Case Consultation
Grieving family members may still wonder if an at-fault party in a tragic accident can be held responsible. They may wonder if holding an insurance company liable is worth the trouble.
To get answers, families can set up a free, no-obligation wrongful death case consultation. It’s a way to find out how much insurers may have to pay out to help families cover their emotional and economic damages.
This case review with Maison Law Accident & Injury Attorneys is always confidential, and it’s available to all family members after a Kern County accident. We can help family members seek assistance even if they live in another part of California or in another state.
Where Families Can Turn to Cover Medical Bills After a Wrongful Death
A terrible accident like a collision on Route 58, or a fall down some faulty stairs at an apartment complex, can cause life-threatening harm. Victims might mount a brave fight in the hospital, such as Adventist Health Bakersfield. They may live for days or weeks afterward, but still eventually succumb to their injuries.
Family members will be devastated. And at such a difficult time, they can also be faced with a mountain of bills, including the charges for the victim’s time in a hospital. The bills might also include surgeons’ fees and ambulance fees.
If a careless driver or a negligent property owner contributed to a tragic accident, they and their insurers should be liable. Unfortunately, liability insurance companies can delay support and make things as hard as possible on those left behind.
Families may have waited months for a wrongful death settlement check while watching their bills go unpaid. These expenses might be the bills from doctors and hospitals.
Fortunately, families do have some options to get these invoices paid, even if a settlement is still held up.
- Medical lien. Ask doctors and hospital administrators to accept a medical lien. A medical lien is a claim filed against the family’s anticipated wrongful death settlement money. Hospital administrators may accept late payment.
- Allow your attorney to negotiate. Depend on a lawyer’s help in negotiating healthcare costs and payment. An experienced Bakerfield wrongful death lawyer can often help your family secure a discount on the healthcare that was rendered. A skilled lawyer can also negotiate better terms on liens and, at times, get some medical debt forgiven.
- Rely on the victim’s health insurance.
- Rely on the victim’s Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Health insurance policies, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits may help families pay hospital bills. However, these large insurers and programs will likely require reimbursement if families later receive a wrongful death settlement. An experienced attorney can help a spouse or the victim’s children make sure these obligations are fulfilled so that families don’t get penalized later.
It’s important to note that families may have to cover large deductibles on coverage until an award in a wrongful death claim is made.
We have more information posted if you have questions about who can file a wrongful death claim in California.
Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Bakersfield
If you have lost a family member to a wrongful death tragedy, contact us to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real, local attorney.
We never want to see Bakersfield families left to struggle with financial issues, such as leftover medical costs, when they should be allowed to grieve their loss in peace. Let us work for your family and make sure those at fault are held accountable.
Families in mourning don’t need to worry about how they’ll pay a lawyer. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield only gets paid if we win the case for your family. Your family isn’t charged if the case fails. After a successful case, our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurer must write for your family.