QUESTION
Do I have to pay half of settlements to medical bills?
Asked on Apr 25th, 2014 on Personal Injury - North Carolina
More details to this question:
I received a settlement, then after lawyer fees, he said by NC statute I had to pay half to medical bills. I had personal insurance that covered the initial wreck and hospital fees, then after I lost insurance. Now I'm receiving another settlement, to finalize it, and he said I still would have to pay half, after lawyer fees, to medical bills. Since half of my first settlement paid for medical, which covered most if not all of medical bills, does half of my second settlement have to be taken away by NC statute?
2 ANSWERS
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how many settlements do you get in one case. I have never seen but one settlement per case. an NC statute says that after paying atty fees no more than one half the balance can be paid to satisfy medical liens (liens are different from bills) the whole idea is to give claimants like yourself some funds from a settlement regardless of how large the bills are. your lawyer seems to know what he is talking about. But I don't know what 2 settlements means in one case. there ain't no such unless you are talking about medical payments under your own auto policy.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2014 at 12:57 PM
If the medical provider has a medical lien on your settlement funds, they are allowed to take no more than 50% of the settlement after the attorney fees. If there is no medical lien, there is no requirement to pay the medical bills from the settlement proceeds - however, you will still owe the medical providers for the bills if the 50% does not pay all of the bills.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2014 at 12:33 PM