Were You Surprised With a Hospital Lien After an Arizona Accident?

As if being in an accident wasn’t stressful or time-consuming enough, finding out that you have a lien by the hospital that treated you for your injuries may put you over the top. It is understandable. You obtain your much-needed treatment after an accident that was not your fault, and then there is an unpaid balance for that treatment. This results in the hospital putting forth a lien with the county recorder against you. Now, what do you do?

Why Does A Hospital Record Liens Against Patients?

There are strict laws in Arizona that will not prohibit this type of offense to be put on victims. The reason the hospital records the lien is that they want to make their claim on the injury settlement. When the insurance payments don’t pay the total bill, the hospital seeks to make up the loss. The remainder is put on the patient. This method is also called ‘balance billing.” 

When you are the subject of balance billing it is understandable that you would be confused and distraught. After all, you have been through, this is the last thing you need. It is an unfair situation and yet another hurdle that you shouldn’t have to deal with. 

There are good news and bad news about this practice. The good news is that balance billing is not permitted in the state of Arizona. Outlined in A.R.S. § 20-1072(F), it is unlawful for hospitals to collect more payments from a patient than the hospital agreed to accept with the insurance company. The bad news is that the hospital’s argument is that they are only making a claim on the “third party” not the patient. Therefore they are not collecting from the patient. This argument often allows hospitals to get around the law because the Arizona courts, for the most part, allow this argument. The result is, hospitals essentially have the green light to continue engaging in this practice.

How Does A Lien Impact A Victim In Arizona?

When you receive your final settlement amount after your accident, the lien will reduce the amount you receive. This is common practice, and unfortunately, it happens often in the state. After all the work and time you and your Arizona serious injury attorney put into your cases to gain a fair settlement against the at-fault party, the litigation and fight don’t always end there. Your legal team must either continue to negotiate or continue to fight against the hospital to minimize the amount that the hospital is taking away from the victim’s settlements.

This is a large part of a personal injury attorney’s job, which is why it is critically important you have the right legal representation by your side. You need a team that is qualified, experienced and is passionate about their clients’ rights. The Phoenix automobile accident attorneys at ELG care about our clients and we will stand up for you when you have been wronged by a negligent party. We know how important it is that you obtain the most compensation as possible after your accident, and we will work hard so that you are treated fairly.

Do You Need A Personal Injury Attorney In Arizona?

A consultation with ELG takes little time and is completely free. Call our bilingual team of  Arizona personal injury attorneys at ELG today at (623) 877-3600 to schedule your free consultation.