Obtaining Medical Treatment Through A Letter Of Protection
If you’ve been injured or know someone involved in a personal injury case, you might have heard people talking about a Letter of Protection. Many people have misconceptions about what a letter of protection is and what it does.
What Is A Letter Of Protection A Letter of Protection is a document between your attorney and your doctor, which basically states that the attorney agrees to hold funds from your accident settlement to pay the doctor should there be sufficient funds from the settlement. The funds typically come from your part of the settlement after the attorney collects his fee, and is treated like a lien against your settlement.
For example, if you get a $100,000 settlement and your medical bills are $8,000, and your doctor has a Letter of Protection with your attorney, your attorney pays your doctor the $8,000 from your settlement before he issues you the remaining $2,000 from the settlement. If there’s no Letter of Protection, you get the entire amount of the settlement, and then you are responsible for paying your medical bills from it.
When You Should Use A Letter Of Protection A Letter of Protection typically only comes into play if you need to receive medical care but don’t have health insurance, or if your health insurance refuses to pay for your medical care. It is a great way to receive medical care you wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive. In the event that your insurance isn’t paying, a doctor may agree to treat you anyway and defer his bills based on the Letter of Protection. If this happens, you still owe the money to the doctor – the doctor is just agreeing to hold his bills while your case is being processed.
If you don’t win your case, the injured party is still liable to pay your medical bills. The Letter of Protection isn’t an agreement to waive your bills; it only defers them until the case is finished. If you don’t win your case, you must pay your bills out of pocket.
Does A Letter Of Protection Make My Attorney Liable For My Medical Bills? Some people believe that because a Letter of Protection is a document between your attorney and your doctor, your attorney becomes liable to pay your bills. That is incorrect. A Letter of Protection is never an agreement to pay your bills. It’s only an agreement to disburse funds from your settlement, should a settlement be reached. If a settlement is not reached, you are liable for your medical bills – not your attorney.
Free Consultation At the Anderson Law Firm, we routinely issue Letts of Protection when it is needed. We are glad to do so because it helps our clients get the medical attention they need. For more information, please fill out our contact form online for a FREE CONSULTATION or call toll free at 877-294-1115.
