Resolving Leonorilda’s $38,000 Hospital Lien
In August 2020, Leonorilda was stopped at a red traffic light on Tyler Avenue in Harlingen, Texas. A second driver was traveling behind Leonorilda, failed to notice that she was stopped, and collided into the back of her vehicle. The force of the impact caused Leonorilda’s airbags to deploy and pushed her car into a pole across the street. After an on-scene investigation, the responding police officer attributed the at-fault driver’s failure to control speed as the collision’s sole contributing factor and cited the driver accordingly.
Due to Leonorilda’s injuries, an ambulance transported her to a Harlingen hospital after the collision. After her discharge, Leonorilda underwent weeks of physical therapy and later received several pain injections, including two epidural steroid injections, to help alleviate the pain caused by the other driver’s negligence.
Days after the collision, Leonorilda contacted and retained my law firm to represent her. My law firm purchased the police report and learned that a motorist claimed to have dashcam footage of the collision. My staff contacted the witness and obtained a copy of the video. Later, we sent the video to the at-fault driver’s liability carrier. After reviewing the video, the liability carrier accepted responsibility for its driver’s negligence and tendered the insured policy’s limits (i.e., the maximum available amount of compensation).
Unfortunately, Leonorilda’s treating hospital filed a hospital lien for its $38,000.00 medical bill—which included $26,000.00 of charges for four CT scans—less than a month after the collision. By filing a lien, Leonorilda’s treating hospital earned the right to receive payment before Leonorilda could receive her settlement. To help Leonorilda, my office requested the hospital to reduce its bill to a fair and reasonable amount. Ultimately, the hospital agreed to reduce Leonorilda’s hospital bill to approximately 10% of its initial balance, allowing her to receive fair compensation for her injuries.
If someone else’s negligence has injured you or a loved one, you have enough things to worry about. Do not let negotiating with an insurance company be one of them. We deal with the insurance company so you can focus on getting your life back to normal. You have one chance to do this; make the right choice by choosing the right attorney. Call us at (956) 291-7870 or email us at contact@rdjlawyer.com for a free consultation and case evaluation.