If you were hurt in an auto accident or a truck accident, you likely experienced injuries that needed treatment at the emergency room. Some hospitals in Missouri are now beginning to reject payment from your health insurance company. The hospitals are trying this tactic because health insurance companies have negotiated lower payments (discounts) when paying for hospital charges. The hospital, in an accident case, may rather decline the lower payment from the insurance company and try to charge you full cost of the services by placing a lien against your auto accident claim. If successful, they get paid more and you receive less.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, addressed this issue in Morgan v. Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City. In the case, Ms. Morgan alleged that the hospital had committed an unfair business practice by declining her health insurance payment and placing a lien against her auto accident claim. Her total charges for medical treatment were in excess of $11,000.00. The hospital first billed Ms. Morgan’s health insurance, and received payment, but then sent the payment back and asserted a lien for the full amount of the bill, without reduction, in her auto accident claim. The Court held that the hospital did not have the right to a lien unless there was a debt owed by Ms. Morgan. The Court sent the case back to the trial court for further hearing as to whether or not there was a debt owed by Ms. Morgan if the health insurance payment was accepted by the hospital.

Missouri hospitals further try to take advantage of unrepresented people by asking for full payment and failing to abide by the Missouri hospital lien statute in Section 430.225 RSMo. The hospital lien statute provides that medical providers can only share in one-half of the net proceeds of an auto accident settlement after payment of attorneys fees. We recently were able to help one of our clients pay only $25,000.00 to fully satisfy more than $600,000.00 worth of medical liens as a result of the statute.

If you have been hurt in an auto accident, you need a good auto accident lawyer. Decisions made from the moment you contact the insurance company can drastically affect the settlement you receive. Handling hospital liens is just one small piece of any auto accident claim, but the failure to handle a lien properly can result in a substantially lower settlement amount in your pocket.

Our lawyers represent injured people in personal injury claims, especially those arising out of an auto accident or truck accident. Contact us for a free consultation.