Your medical bills

The clearest evidence of what your claim is worth is the billing record showing how much it cost to treat your injuries. Make sure you have a copy of every bill for every medical service you received. If any bill was sent directly to a health insurance company, or for any other reason you do not have a copy, request a copy from the medical provider, so that you can include it when you make your demand for compensation.

If you belong to a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), or other prepaid health plan, you are not usually charged a specific sum for visits or treatments, and so there's no actual bill. But every HMO and health plan has a list of charges for each service it provides. If you request it, the business office at your HMO or health plan will give you a list of its charges for each of the examinations, treatments, medicines, and other services provided you. Insurances companies consider these charges the same as if they were bills you had actually paid.

Most HMO and health plan contracts provide that if you recover compensation from a third party for injuries treated by the HMO, or covered by the pre--paid health plan, it has right to be repaid the amount of the charges. In exchange for giving you a list of charges for your treatment, the HMO or health plan might require you to sign a medical lien against your future compensation. This lien requires that you repay the HMO or health plan when you are compensated for your injuries.

However, there are ways, once you have reached a final settlement of your claim, to negotiate with the HMO or health plan so that you repay at only a reduced amount of its charges.

Compensation amount

Basically, the elements in deciding how much your claim is worth boil down to one thing; How the insurance company believes a jury would decide your claim if it were to wind up in court. After measuring its chances in court, the insurance company has to figure in its cost of putting in a legal fight on top of what a jury might award you, comparing it with the amount your claim could be settled for without going to court.

If you would like to talk with a representative about your medical bills, as well as what your claim could be worth, please fill in the form below, or dial (208) 375-9392, toll-free 1-800-INJURED.

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