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If you were recently injured in an accident and can’t afford to pay the accident-related medical expenses, a letter of protection can help. This document ensures that you receive necessary medical care and that your medical provider receives compensation for services rendered.
Want to learn more about how a letter of protection can help you achieve proper financial compensation? Schedule a free consultation with our team of personal injury attorneys today.
A letter of protection (LOP) is a written statement guaranteeing medical treatment for the injury victim and payment to the medical provider who helps the injury victim after an accident. The medical provider will be paid in full for any treatment they provide from either a future settlement or a jury verdict award amount.
When a person sustains injuries due to someone else’s negligence, the injured party’s insurance company may demand that the negligent party’s insurance provider pay for any medical bills.
To ensure the injury victim receives the medical care they need, their attorney can write an LOP to the medical provider. This letter allows the victim to receive medical care that they otherwise couldn’t afford out of pocket and guarantees payment to the medical provider.
If you suffer an injury at work due to the negligence of your employer, your insurance provider and your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider may disagree over who is liable for paying your medical bills. Your attorney can write an LOP to ensure you receive the medical care you need before liability is established.
Similarly, if you sustain injuries due to a car accident, your insurance provider and the negligent party’s insurance provider may argue about who must pay the outstanding medical bills. Your attorney can write an LOP so you can receive necessary medical care while liability is established.
When someone is involved in a personal injury case and decides to pursue litigation against the negligent party, achieving financial compensation takes time. In most cases, the injury victim needs money quickly to pay off mounting medical bills.
An LOP allows the injury victim to continue receiving necessary medical treatment while they wait to receive compensation from the at-fault party—either through a settlement or jury verdict—to pay for the medical bills.
A letter of protection (LOP) is a formal letter stating that the injury victim’s insurance company won’t pay for accident-related medical bills. Rather, the negligent party’s insurance company must pay for all accident-related medical expenses. The letter will ask the medical provider to accept the terms of the LOP.
If no settlement or jury verdict is reached to compensate the medical provider, the injury victim must pay all medical bills using personal funds. Any medical bills or letters of collection for the injury victim should be sent to the attorney, not directly to the injury victim.
Every personal injury case is different. Consult a personal injury attorney for trustworthy guidance about whether you should use an LOP.
You also run the risk of reaching a settlement that doesn’t fully cover your medical bills. In this case, you must use personal funds to pay the remaining balance.
A letter of protection is a legally binding contract between an injury victim, their attorney, and the medical provider in the given case. This letter is a promise of payment for any professional medical services provided by the healthcare professional on behalf of the injury victim. The medical professionals must be paid in accordance with the terms of the letter of protection.
It’s crucial to hire a reputable personal injury attorney to guide you throughout the process. This licensed attorney will know how to properly craft and negotiate an LOP on behalf of the injury victim.
Insurance companies may paint your medical provider as an unreliable witness because he or she has a personal stake in you winning the case. They may claim that this medical professional is willing to lie or bend the truth to receive payment for medical services rendered.
Thankfully, an experienced personal injury attorney will know how to address these false claims and advocate on your behalf.
The goal in pursuing financial compensation after a personal injury case is to reach a settlement that will fully cover all accident-related expenses—including medical bills, ongoing care, and lost wages. In many cases, you may not know how much lost wages and ongoing care will cost until well after the accident occurs. These expenses can stack up quickly and end up costing much more than you initially anticipated.
That’s why we recommend waiting to pay any accident-related expenses until you have a better idea of how much they’ll cost. If the costs are significant, you may choose to pursue a settlement to receive financial compensation from your insurance provider and/or the negligent party that will cover them.
If the injury victim doesn’t win the personal injury case, they will not receive financial compensation from the negligent party. In this case, the injury victim is responsible for paying the medical provider for all services rendered.
If you need a personal injury lawyer in Scottsdale you can trust to advocate on your behalf, look no further than Shapiro Law Team. We’ll walk alongside you throughout the settlement process, including handling all settlement negotiations and fighting back against insurance companies who aren’t willing to pay for accident-related expenses.
You can count on us to provide Superior Representation from start to finish.