Medical & Hospital Bills

Following an accident of any kind, you may face very expensive costs for necessary medical attention to treat your injuries, and you will find that the bills for these services begin to pile up very quickly. A common problem with this scenario is that, in the majority of serious injury cases, you will probably be unable to return to work for a while, as a consequence of your injuries. This very often causes injury victims' financial situations to deteriorate as they face high medical bills at a time that they are unable to earn income.

It is in these types of circumstances that an experienced Boston personal injury law firm can assist such injury victims. Massachusetts law provides mechanisms for medical bills to be paid in many types of these situations, but trying to navigate and understand these laws and this system without an experienced Boston injury attorney, is very difficult.

The Law Offices of William D. Kickham knows just how to navigate this system. We will not only help you understand how your medical and hospital bills can be paid following an injury caused by someone else's negligence, but if we accept your case we will make sure that you receive maximum financial damages for your injuries, aside from merely having your medical bills paid. Call us now at Ph. (617) 285-3600 or at Ph. (781) 320-0062, or send us an email. We provide potential new clients with a FREE CONSULTATION. When necessary, we can also make house calls and hospital visits, and have offices conveniently located in downtown Boston and Westwood, Massachusetts. Remember, the phone consultation is FREE and, if we accept your case, you will pay us absolutely NO LEGAL FEES unless we obtain financial compensation on your behalf. You have nothing to lose - and everything to gain - by calling our Boston Massachusetts accident law firm.

There are a variety of circumstances under which a person's medical and hospital bills can be paid following an accident in Massachusetts:

• If you're injured in a car or motor vehicle accident, and you were the at-fault driver:

  Anyone registering a car in Massachusetts (i.e., every car owner) is required to carry automobile insurance. That's the law. There are a variety of different coverages in the standard Massachusetts auto insurance policy, grouped into "compulsory" coverages (i.e., coverages that you are required to purchase,) and "optional" coverages. One type of coverage that is compulsory is called personal injury protection (or "PIP".) Personal Injury Protection provides insurance coverage up to a maximum of $8,000 to pay for medical expenses and lost wages (these can sometimes vary depending on the policy limits). This insurance coverage applies regardless of who caused the car accident. Therefore, it is available to pay your medical bills even if you were the driver who was at fault.

• If you were in a car or motor vehicle accident, and the other driver was at fault and caused you to suffer injuries:

  Aside from Personal Injury Protection (PIP,) another compulsory auto insurance coverage that all car owners must buy in Massachusetts is called Bodily Injury Liability ("BI") coverage. There are varying amounts of coverage that car owners can buy of this type of insurance, up to several million dollars in insurance riders, but the minimum that must by law be purchased is called "20/40." This refers to coverage of $20,000 per person/up to a maximum of $40,000 per accident, to pay for bodily injuries suffered by another person. So, if another driver caused your injuries, that driver's auto insurance would pay up to $20,000 per person injured in that accident, up to a maximum of $40,000 in total, to cover your damages.

  In addition, when medical expenses for an injured person exceed $2,000, or when the injured person suffers broken bones, scarring or disfigurement, Massachusetts law allows the injured person to file suit in court to recover pain and suffering damages (which are separate and different than reimbursement for medical bills.) See our page on Massachusetts car accidents, for more detailed information on such a lawsuit.

• If you were injured on property owned by another person or by a business:

  These types of injuries can fall into a variety of different categories, including: Slip and falls and other accidents on property belonging to businesses and homeowners; dog bites; defective products; medical malpractice; and basically any situation where someone else's negligence causes injuries to another person.

  Coverage for these types of injuries will come from either commercial liability insurance, if the injury occurred on business property, or most likely a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy, if the injury occurred at someone's residence or on private property. Medical expenses and hospital bills can be paid from these insurance policies. Massachusetts law also gives injured persons the right to file a lawsuit against a person or party who engages in negligence and causes you harm while you were on their property. For a more complete list of the types of injuries and accidents that can be covered in these types of situations, click through to our Practice Areas page, where you can then see specific injury pages.

• If you're injured while at work or during the course of your employment:

  When you are injured while an employee at work, compensation for your medical bills, a portion of your lost wages and other damages are by law covered by your employer's workers' compensation insurance company. (Almost all employers in Massachusetts are required to carry workers' compensation insurance to pay for injured workers' medical expenses and lost wages.) When filing a workers' compensation claim, your damages are limited to the above categories (medical expenses, a percentage of lost wages and other damages that are outlined in the Massachusetts workers' compensation statute.) Filing a "workers' comp" claim involves a legal trade-off: While the process of receiving benefit payments for your medical bills and some of your lost wages is much easier and faster than filing a lawsuit through the traditional court system, you are barred from suing your employer in court for 'traditional' damages, such as physical pain and suffering and mental or emotional distress. For more information on Massachusetts Workers Compensation claims, click on that link in this sentence.

  With the above exception for workers' compensation claims, in almost all personal injury claims and lawsuits, you can seek damages through the court system. As the plaintiff, you will need to prove that the party you are suing (the defendant) engaged in negligence in causing your injuries. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as in some cases involving dangerous or defective products As experienced Boston accident and injury lawyers, we can explain to you the particular legal challenges that you may face, based upon the type of accident and injury involved.

Massachusetts law provides important safeguards to people who are injured due to another person's negligence, to make sure that those injury victims do not have to pay the financial costs that arise from such an accident. It is important to know what your legal rights under the law are, so that you don't experience financial losses.

To learn more of how our Boston accident lawyers can help you make sure that your medical and hospital bills can be paid following an accident or injury, call us at Ph. (617) 285-3600 or at Ph. (781) 320-0062, or click here to send us a confidential email. We will provide you with a complimentary 20-minute FREE CONSULTATION, and if we accept your case, you will owe us NO LEGAL FEES unless we are successful at recovering damages on your behalf.

Boston, Massachusetts personal injury lawyer William D. Kickham is a legal analyst for several local and national media. He has served as a legal expert and provided professional commentary on Court TV (now In Session on HLN,) Fox News TV-25/Boston, The Boston Herald, WBZ-AM Radio 1030, WCVB-TV5/Boston, Nightside With Dan Rea, Greater Boston With Emily Rooney, Money Matters Radio/Boston, and The Metro Newspaper/ Boston.

Put that experienced background to work for you, if you've been injured in a Massachusetts personal injury accident.