INJURY | PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER | PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY | INJURIES

Medical expenses are often difficult to pay, and families become burdened by bills after multiple or serious injuries and illnesses. As people age and as families grow larger, medical expenses also increase. However, not all medical expenses are the patient’s responsibility. In cases of medical malpractice and product recall, doctors, hospitals and manufacturers should bear the brunt, if not all, of the medical expense.

Medical expenses are often not completely covered by insurance companies when they should be. Sometimes, in cases of insurance fraud, insurance companies will not pay medical expenses that they are suppose to cover. This often happens when medical expenses are incurred after automobile accidents or when patients file worker’s compensation claims.

When choosing an insurance provider, you should be careful to read the fine print, be wary of paying in cash or providing a year’s worth of payments, and avoid signing a blank insurance form.

Make sure you know which medical expenses are deductible on your taxes as well, and choose the right tax forms. You can deduct payments for diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment and prevention of your illness or injury, which includes any mental illness. However, medical expenses must total more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income before you can claim medical expenses as a deduction on your tax forms.

Most importantly, know your rights. Medical expenses might not be your responsibility if:

• there has been medical malpractice, such as negligence and failure to accurately diagnose, treat or prevent an illness
• you receive an injury that could have been prevented under certain circumstances, such as dog bites; injuries from a car, plane or motorcycle accident; injuries from defective products; falls; work-related accidents; assaults; chemical or asbestos exposure, etc.
• you are a recipient of a recalled medical device
• you believe your insurance company is supposed to pay
• medical expenses are deductible on your tax forms and amount to more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income

This list does not include all of the possible instances for which someone else should pay your medical expenses. Contact a medical malpractice attorney or a personal injury attorney so that you can better understand your rights.

Lost income is difficult whether you’re single or married with a family, and people who suffer severe injuries are the most likely victims of lost income. Serious injuries like brain injuries, knee injuries, back injuries, heart attacks, strokes, paralysis and amputations are injuries that keep you out of work. What’s important to understand is that if income is lost because of an incident in which someone else is at fault, your medical expenses and lost wages can be recovered. Make sure to contact a personal injury attorney to help you decide who is at fault and to answer any questions you have. Injuries that result in lost income include:

• workplace injury
• automobile accident
• motorcycle accident
• offshore injury
• medical malpractice
• hospital negligence
• air bag failure
• amusement ride accidents
• part recalls
• drug recalls
• drunk driving accident
• slip and fall
• railroad accident
• swimming pool accident
• pleasure boat accident
• toxic mold
• bicycle accident

And the list goes on. The pain because of an injury is often overshadowed by the stress caused by lost income. Some people have to file bankruptcy in order to pay medical expenses, and once those have been paid, they are left with nothing. Often, medication and therapy is required for the rest of the person’s life, leaving them with a future of expensive medical bills.