Let’s take for example an uninsured plaintiff who was injured in an auto accident due to another person’s negligence. The victim is hurt and in need of medical care but he doesn’t have health insurance coverage and the defendant’s insurance isn’t going to pay anything until the legal case is settled. In this situation how do you, the attorney, help your client get the medical care he needs now?
Justice should be blind, but the reality is that the legal system often allows for defense attorneys to slow the legal process down with continuances and other procedural strategies. So even a clear-cut case of defendant liability may not succeed if the plaintiff requires immediate medical attention now and can’t afford to wait until the conclusion of the legal process.
As an alternative to accepting the defendant’s first lowball offer, you could try to find medical professionals who will diagnose and/or treat your client while accepting a deferral of payment until the legal case is settled or won. Assuming a quality medical provider can be found in your area who will accept your Letter of Protection, your client will then gain access to the medical care he needs, but what about his other financial needs that may be required throughout the long and often winding road of a complex personal injury lawsuit?
Chances are your plaintiff can’t work while he is recovering from his injuries. Again, this may force your client to accept a quick and sub-optimal settlement since that would be the only way for him to pay for his day to day expenses while out of work. So now you have to find a pre-settlement funding company that will help with your plaintiff’s day to day expenses. Before you know it, you are juggling your plaintiff’s case, medical providers who are antsy for payment and a pre-settlement funding company all of whom want to settle as quickly as possible so they can get their money back before the case drags on for many months or years.
In addition, don’t overlook the risk that if the case is lost for some reason, your plaintiff is still responsible for paying the medical professionals for their services. If the legal case is lost, and the plaintiff is out of work, how does he pay for debts associated with the case? His debts may be sent to collection agencies that can ruin your client’s credit scores.
This is where a full service funding company like HMR Funding comes in. Not only can a full service funding company help by paying your client’s medical bills, but the same company can also help with pre-settlement funding solutions while the patient is recovering from his injuries. This allows top personal injury attorneys to turn to a single well-respected company to take care of all of their clients’ financial needs; no need for you to take your eye off of the underlying legal case due to having to juggle multiple companies. And perhaps most importantly, we underwrite the attributes of every case so all of the funding is non-recourse, meaning if the case is lost, your client does not have to pay us back. We take the risks alongside the talented personal injury lawyers we work with each and every day.
Working with a full service medical funding company can be a win, win, win for all involved. The attorney can focus on fighting for justice for his client. The plaintiff is able to get the needed medical care and living expense assistance; and the medical provider is paid promptly for the services provided.
For more information on working with a full service funding company, please visit the HMR Funding website at www.hmrfunding.com
This article was submitted by Dean Chase is CMO of HMR Funding which is a medical funding company that helps uninsured and underinsured plaintiffs pay for the quality medical care they may require due to injuries sustained at no fault of their own.
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