Here's a perfect example of a case, where the driver of a car that beat a young man on the street, not enough insurance coverage, leading to insufficient compensation for his injuries:
This particular man was in a mall across the street when he hit by a car in the shopping center. The driver was about 25-30 miles per hour. He hit the man directly on the left side of his body, which go to him to fly through the air and landed about three feetfrom where he started. The injured man was by ambulance to the nearest trauma center, where he was when with a broken femur (the largest bone in the body diagnosed), trauma, and his face fell, and bleeding under his skull. The victim required a tracheostomy, a hole in the windpipe, a tube from a ventilator to help him make breathe. These injured victims for more than three weeks in hospital.
When he was released, he was sent to a rehabilitation facility and ultimatelythe way home.
The driver of the car had insurance. Had, however, when I investigated the insurance, it turns out, it was a "limited" policy. This means it was a relatively small amount of politics. Shortly after I was able to all violations of my client document to the insurance company to pay them immediately to the full insurance, because they realized that my client suffered damage far beyond the existing insurance in this case.
Q: What other options were availablethis young man after the insurance company offered "(paid) the insurance company?
A: One possibility would be to sue the driver personally and try to get a verdict against him. If this succeeds, then I would be able to enforce the sentence for the seizure of his property in order to respond to the ruling. However, after investigating this possibility, we have learned that the driver had no assets, at least none that were in his name. Bringing an action against him to bring only a "paper" verdict wouldserve the customer does not make sense.
The government steps IN ...
In this case, my client had been receiving Medicare benefits because a pre-existing disability. When Medicare learned (as always) that my client had received compensation for his injuries, they asserted a "lien" against the proceeds of his case. This meant that it was their right to money, paid the Medicare claims for his hospital and doctor bills to draw from this car accident. TheMedical bills alone were astronomical. They were over $ 300,000! Medicare wanted everything, would get what my client, as his share of the settlement. In fact, this young man could possibly get anything as a result of his injuries.
I turned to Medicare advised them it would be tragic if this young man was seriously injured have been required to pay back Medicare everything he was awarded in the settlement. But Medicare, a reasonable argument: Who else pays for their medicalInvoices, as he in hospital? Nobody. He had no other health insurance. Medicare did not expect to get reimbursed for paying his medical bills. But if the injured victim brings a claim for compensation from the driver of a car, bus, truck, or someone else and is successful, then Medicare steps and says: "You are now obligated to reimburse us." Many times Medicare will try to negotiate with you, depending on the amount you recover. But the bottom line is that it mustbe repaid.
If your attorney ignores a Medicare lien, but they do so at your own risk. If your lawyer pays you your net share settle the dispute, without money for the allocation of Medicare, that will happen. Medicare will file a complaint against your attorney in federal court. They are not only asking for the money that they should recover, but for three times the amount (which require so-called treble damages). Needless to say, if your lawyer has reached this stage, he hassignificant problems. The government is not required after the client (you) the injured victim. Your attorney may try to get the money from you, but what if you already spent it? Now the lawyer has even bigger problems.
The bottom line? Medicare must be repaid.
The bottom line for this customer? He's got the short end of the stick since the driver of the car, which it is not enough car insurance to the serious injuries he received coverage taken. Then, the government hasstepped in and asked for the total to cover at least part of their expenses. After an appeal to Medicare, they were "generous" enough to my clients home for a token amount of the original fee, which shall he entitled to receive.
What is the moral of this story? Carry enough car insurance on your insurance to cover a serious injury. Then you buy an "umbrella" policy (also known as an excess policy) to protect you and your assets in case of your most important insurancePolitics is not sufficient to pay compensation to someone seriously injured.
Thank you for your time to be informed.
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