Hospital Lien on Personal Injury

Dallas-Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney in Arlington, Dallas & Fort Worth TX

Hospital liens are a particularly troubling aspect of a personal injury lawsuit. If you are admitted to a hospital within 72 hours of your injury, the hospital may file a lien against your settlement. This is yet another reason why you need an experienced personal injury attorney in your corner.

Hospital Liens and Texas Personal Injury Law

As stated previously, the hospital may file a lien against your personal injury claim if you have been admitted within 72 hours of the injury. While this may sound reasonable, many hospitals have abused this power. In the past some hospitals have refused to bill insurance companies when it was an entirely viable option.

Why would a hospital refuse to bill insurance companies? The answer is found in the fact that a hospital could charge much more than any type of insurance would pay. Essentially a hospital could artificially inflate the price of treatment and hold it against your claim.

Though Texas legislators have taken one measure to at least partially curb some of the abuse. The new law states that a hospital must bill your health insurance provider, if one is available. While this has stopped some of the abusive billing practices, it has not been made clear whether this applies to Medicare or similar types of coverage.

This ambiguity allows hospitals to file for a lien on your claim if you are covered by Medicare or a similar program. It is time to consult our personal injury attorneys if you have been unfortunate enough to be injured and further victimized via a hospital lien.

Contact the Law Offices of David S. Kohm for your free legal consultation.