Can i still see a doctor even though i was found at-fault for my car accident?
If you were found at fault for your car wreck, you may find that even doctors that treat auto injuries may not want to treat you. They assume that they will not be paid for there services rendered. Meanwhile, you are in pain and need someone to help you.
Being at fault in an accident may no get you a personal injury case, but you still should seek medical care if you have been injured. Injuries, whether your fault or not still need proper medical attention, and left unchecked could lead to further complications down the road. So how do you get medical care after an accident that was your fault?
Forms of payment Doctors may take after an auto accident that was your fault
- Pip or personal injury protection
- Medical payments or med pay
- Cash
- Credit Card
- Health Insurance
Pip or personal injury protection
Personal injury protection will pay for your medical care no matter who was at fault, for you and anyone in your car up to the specified amount. Personal injury protection is mandatory in some states, and not optional in others. Pip limits usually range from 2500 to infinity. In some states Pip will cover all medical expenses, lost wages, travel, etc.
Medical Payments or med pay
Many people in non pip states don’t even know about Med Pay. Medical Payments work very similar to Pip. It will cover your medical expenses no matter who was at fault for you and anyone in your car. A vast majority of people wont get med pay for the extra cost it adds to there premiums, but it is a small price to pay if you ever need it. Med Pay is sold in increments of thousands that usually start at 1000 and go up from there.
Medical Payments are always good to have even if you have health insurance. In some cases, doctors till wont see you even if you have health insurance for a car wreck injury. If you don’t have medical payments listed on your policy and you live in a non pip state, it may be a good idea to call your insurance agent and ask them about it and how much it cost.
Cash is King
I’m sure most of us have heard that quote. Any doctor i have ever known will accept cash for a car wreck injury and may even offer a discount for doing so. Why would they offer a discount for paying with cash? Doctors don’t have to wait for health insurance checks or do paperwork to get there money. They don’t have to wait 6 months to get paid on a medical lien. If you are found at fault in an accident and need to see a doctor paying cash is another way to get medical treatment for your injuries, however not everyone can do this.
Credit Card
In our family, credit cards are for an emergency. If you have been injured, that constitutes an emergency. Doctors will take credit cards for payment to treat you. They may even offer a discount. Some doctors offer programs like care credit. Care Credit, to my knowledge, is just a credit card through a bank that can only be used for health care related expenses. I have seen a lot of offices that accept care credit. Again, if you are injured, you need medical care, no matter if you have a personal injury case or not. Your well being should be your top priority.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is accepted by some doctors if you have been injured in a car accident. Many Doctors will not accept this form of payment if they find out your injury was the cause of a car crash. In some states that have pip, it is required that health insurance pay first, then the pip will kick in and take over. I have seen some doctors accept health insurance and treat injuries and have seen some doctors that won’t even file it and tell people they have to pay upfront for there care. It may do you justice to call around to several doctors offices or clinics to see if they will accept health insurance as a form of payment. Just because your primary care doctor won’t see you, doesn’t mean no one will.
Emergency Room
Last, but not least there is the emergency room. Emergency Rooms were not created to treat people for non life threatening injuries or non emergency. I have heard of people repeatedly going to the ER to get some sort of relief for their injuries. Generally an Er visit is one visit with a doctor and then they refer you somewhere else. If you are in a major city, there may be programs affiliated with the hospital that can help you.
Regardless of who was at fault in a car wreck, if you are injured , you should get medical care. You could work with your Doctor if you are close to come up with some sort of payment plan that you can justify. Finding doctors after auto accidents if you were at fault is not impossible. However, you just have to look in the right places and be diligent in your search.