Seeking Injury Treatment under a Physician’s Lien

 Posted on June 18, 2015 in Personal Injury

When you have been hurt in any type of accident, physical recovery from your injuries should be among your top concerns. The process must often begin immediately as delaying medical care and treatment can have long-term negative effects. In addition, your injuries may also make life extremely difficult, and prompt medical attention is entirely appropriate. However, you may be concerned about seeking medical care without a pre-established means of paying for such care, as action may still be pending regarding liability and compensation for your claim. For this reason, Illinois law permits medical providers to provide services under what known as a health care services lien, or a physician’s lien.

Injured accident victims have enough problems even without having to worry about the availability of medical care due to their current ability or inability to pay. Many, however, are looking forward to future compensation in the form of a verdict, judgment, award, or settlement. The Health Care Services Lien Act allows a medical provider to place a lien against any recovered compensation to cover the provider’s reasonable charges for care provided.

To create a physician’s lien, a medical provider must provide written notice to both the injured party and the party alleged to be liable for the injuries. The notice must include the injured party’s name and address, as well as the date of injury and the name and address of the health care provider. By doing so, the health care provider may seek to recover the costs of treatment provided out of any future recovery. The law places limits on the total amount of liens that may be held against any verdict or settlement, including attorneys’ liens, physicians’ liens, and any others that may have been filed.

As with most aspects of personal injury law, there are many complexities to the application of the law regarding physician’s liens. A lien can be affected by subrogation concerns, as well as the impact on the verdict or settlement of comparative fault. Additionally, the amount of a provider’s lien may be altered by any payment received from a private insurance carrier and appropriately applied contractual discounts.

The exact details of your physician’s lien will depend heavily on the facts specific to your case and an experienced DuPage County personal injury attorney can help you fully understand the situation. Contact our office today for a free consultation and put our skill and knowledge to work for you.