When a person negligently injures someone, it makes sense that they should pay for the damages caused. This includes car damage, medical bills and other losses. It is not uncommon for the injured person to expect prompt payment of medical bills from the other driver’s insurance company.
What is often not understood is that the insurance that the other driver has is a liability policy (as opposed to health insurance). This means that the company will not pay for any medical treatment until the injured person signs a release ending all future claims from the accident.
We have seen situations where insurance companies try to settle a few days after an accident with a promise to pay existing medical costs plus a few hundred dollars for “inconvenience.” One should be wary of such “quick settlements” because many times the extent of an injury may be unknown. For example, a person may think they suffered only a muscle strain only to discover that a more severe injury also occurred.
If you have health insurance or medical payment insurance on your car policy, it may be best to utilize those sources until you ultimately settle with the other driver’s company for your total damages.
You should not expect the negligent party’s insurance company to pay any bills until you have signed a release prepared by the insurance company. Be aware that by signing the release, you are giving up any additional claims which result from the accident.