Can A Medical Lien Affect Your Personal Injury Case?

A medical lien can affect one’s personal injury case. Being aware of the ways in which it can do so can be helpful in understanding the claims process.

For assistance throughout the claims process, you are welcome to speak with one of our California personal injury attorneys at Maire & Deedon. Working with a lawyer can make it much easier to obtain the best possible personal injury outcome.

What Is A Medical Lien?

Right before we can go over what a medical lien is, we must define the word lien. With that in mind, a lien is defined as a legal right to possess another’s property until the debt they owe is discharged.

Just as an example, let’s say that someone goes to the bank and takes out a loan so that they can then purchase a new car.

To ensure that the loan is paid back, the bank will take out a lien on the car. And if the person who took out this loan fails to pay it back, then the bank will seize the car and sell it to recover the loan.

Given the facts and example outlined above, a medical lien is a lien that grants a healthcare provider the legal right to obtain payment for their services.

What Are The 2 Types Of Medical Liens?

The two types of medical liens are as follows:

• A medical lien for public health benefits and/or an insurance policy.
• A medical lien agreement with a healthcare provider.

Regarding the first type of medical lien, if a personal injury claim is successful, then an insurance provider will receive some of the compensation that they are entitled to before the injured person receives the rest of it.

The reason for the above is that if an injured person receives care for their injury, then an insurance company is entitled to some of the proceeds that come from a successful personal injury claim.

Regarding the second type of medical lien, an individual can sign an agreement with a healthcare provider – a hospital, for example – that when they receive compensation from their personal injury claim, it will be used to pay for the care that they received.

Sometimes, though, a personal injury claim is unsuccessful. If this is the case, then the person who received the care must still pay for the care, even though they lost their personal injury claim.

Given the cost of healthcare and the consequences of an unsuccessful claim, it is of the utmost importance that one works with a personal injury lawyer when developing a personal injury claim.

Can A Medical Lien Affect Your Personal Injury Case?

The answer to the question above is “Yes.” But not necessarily in the ways that one might assume.

Rather than a medical lien affecting the outcome of one’s personal injury claim, a medical lien can and will affect one’s ability to receive the healthcare they need during a personal injury case and, in turn, to pay off that healthcare.

If someone with an injury can obtain a medical lien, then they may be able to obtain the medical care that they need, even if they don’t have the ability to pay for it at that time.

But, if their personal injury claim is successful, then they will still need to pay for the care that they have received, even if they cannot afford it.

Outside of that, if one obtains medical care through insurance, then some of the compensation from that claim will need to go to the insurance company before it goes to the injured individual.

Speak With A Northern California Personal Injury Lawyer

A medical lien can, and often will, affect your personal injury case. Speak with a Northern California personal injury lawyer at Maire & Deedon today, and we will assist you in obtaining the compensation you need.