Is my lawyer required to pay my hospital bills out of my personal injury settlement before dispersing my funds?

It depends.  If the hospital filed a hospital lien on your case, then your lawyer has to satisfy the hopsital charges out of the settlement proceeds.  Your lawyer also has to pay any doctors or clinics who have a "Letter of Protection" in your case. Usually, your lawyer will try to negotiate these accounts so that you can maximize the net recovery in your pocket.  It is my goal to make sure that the client ends up with a higher dollar figure in their pocket than my fee.  Many times, I even lower my fee to accomplish this.   Here is an example of a typcial settlement disbursement that you can review.