If you have been involved in a personal injury accident in Massachusetts, and your health insurance company has paid some, or all of your medical bills relating to your accident, then they are entitled to be paid back if you receive a settlement. The money they are paid back comes out of the settlement.

This is often referred to as a ‘lien’ or a ‘right of recovery’ that your health insurance carrier has, by law, against the money that you recover from the accident. Often, your attorney can reduce the amount that you owe to the health insurance carrier. Many times, the health insurance carrier will take a 1/3 reduction of their lien to reflect the attorney’s fee that you must pay out of the settlement. At times, the 1/3 reduction of the health insurance lien can be reduced even more by your attorney.

Health insurance providers however have to follow the law when asserting their liens against a personal injury case. For example, if you had a car accident and you (or your attorney) receives a certified letter from a health insurance company, and that letter contains the required elements, then the health insurance lien is ‘perfected’ which basically means it is enforceable against the settlement. Keep in mind hospitals also may file a lien and the legal requirement they must follow to accomplish this is found here.

If you have more questions about liens and personal injury cases, contact us today for immediate legal help. Put our years of experience to work for you.