The sad reality is that not everyone in the State of Georgia has health insurance. While this is certainly a problem in general, it specifically can be an issue when you have been injured in a car wreck.
You absolutely can get medical treatment after a car wreck when you have no insurance. The first, and most obvious way you can get treatment, is through the medical payments part on your auto policy. Check the declarations page on your auto policy to see if you have this coverage. If you do have this coverage, you can get medical treatment up to the amount of the coverage.
Another added bonus about having med pay coverage is that it is no fault. In other words, even if you caused the accident, you can use this part of your policy to pay for medical treatment.
If you don’t have med pay on your auto policy, or if you have exhausted it, the next way you can get treatment is through the doctor treating you on a lien. So you pay nothing up front for your treatment, but the provider has a lien on any potential settlement to get paid. See O.C.G.A.§ 44-14-470.
Another way to get treatment is through a medical funding company. The company will purchase the accounts from the medical provider, and then the company will have a secured interest in your settlement. This gives you a wider network of potential medical providers.
Unlike med pay, the lien treatment and medical funding companies are going to evaluate your case to determine liability and insurance coverage. If they do not believe you will collect from the at fault insurance company in the end, they might decline to treat you because they have doubts they will ultimately be paid. Hopefully you never get in this position, but the good news is there are avenues for medical treatment from a car wreck when you have no insurance.
Peter Bricks is a Woodstock personal injury and bankruptcy attorney in the metro Atlanta area, who files cases in the Magistrate Court of Cherokee County.