Missouri Personal Injury Laws

MMI or Maximum Medical Improvement, is the term that the insurance company’s doctor uses when he or she believes that medicine will no longer make you any better, and you’re as good as you’re going to get from the treatment you’ve gotten after your work-related injury.

By: Spencer Farris

Bad things happen and you’ve been in a wreck. Now you need to figure out what to do to make the best of this terrible situation.

Injury Law News, brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm.

I’m Spencer Farris, a partner at the S.E. Farris Law Firm. We’re going to talk about some things that you can do to help your St. Louis injury lawyer make the best of the bad situation that the car crash caused you. Your situation is the opposite of the movie, Fight Club. Talk about your wreck, talk about your wreck, talk about your wreck. Talk about your wreck to the police. Make sure they know what happened and they know how it happened. Talk about your wreck to health care providers. If you’re having pain and problems, you need to make sure that your doctors see you immediately, and they know why you’re there. Tell them about your wreck. A picture of your crashed car, a picture of your injuries will all be important to your injury lawyer when he represents you. Don’t rely on the insurance company to take pictures for you. And don’t expect that the pictures they take will be available to you if you need them.

After the wreck, expect a call from strangers with the insurance company and other investigation sources. The professionals at the insurance company will work hard to defeat your claim. They’re going to ask you a lot of questions and for a lot of information. Don’t give them a statement. Remember that they’re not there to help you. You wouldn’t do surgery on yourself and you probably shouldn’t handle your own injury case either. In fact, studies by insurance institutes have shown that folks who get a lawyer to represent them after an injury get four-to-five times more money than those without.

If you have more questions, feel free to contact my law firm, at our web address, or the phone number that’s listed. We’re happy to visit with you and talk about your case without cost or obligation. The S.E. Farris law firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

I got a call from a lady the other day who wanted to know how her medical bills were going to be paid after her injury.

Injury Law News brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm.

I’m Spencer Farris and I represent injury victims in the state of Missouri. I get that kind of call a lot from folks who are worried about their rising medical bills and the daily mail that they get with another bill collector looking for payment. And this is what I typically tell them.

Medicare

Senior citizens and folks on social security disability are covered by Medicare and Medicare will pay the medical bills as they are incurred. However, Medicare gets part of their money back from your injury case at the end. Your lawyer will have to negotiate that for you because Medicare will want dollar for dollar on what they spend.

Medicaid

Children in Missouri who don’t have private health insurance, and some adults, are covered by Missouri Medicaid. And Medicaid also will pay Medical bills and, at the end of your lawsuit, they will expect to be repaid. However, a judge can reduce or totally eliminate your payback to Medicaid. You’ll need your lawyer to help you with that.

Private Insurance

The other group that frequently pays medical bills in Missouri is private insurance and private insurance will ask for repayment almost always. Unless they are a special plan, a self-funded union plan or something along those lines that is governed by federal law, they’re not entitled to reimbursement. The word that they will say is subrogation, which means they stand in your shoes and get to collect their money back from the person who hurt you. Make sure that your lawyer is well aware and willing to fight for you so that you don’t have to pay back the health insurance. And this isn’t cheating. You paid benefits to get the health insurance. You wrote a check every month. They shouldn’t get their money back just because they did what they promised to do.

No Insurance

Finally, there are a lot of folks that don’t have any health insurance. And in those situations, hospitals and doctors will treat you on what’s called a lien basis. Hospitals don’t have to see you unless you’re in an emergency. But, experienced trial lawyers can help you find a doctor who will treat you on a lien basis and will make sure that your doctor understands that they will get paid.

When you’ve been hurt, the most important thing is to feel better and not be worried about how you’re going to pay for your medical bills. Remember that a trial lawyer who cares about his clients will fight for you and fight to put money in your pocket, rather than spend it all on the health care that you wouldn’t have needed but for your injury. If you have questions about medical care or how to pay for it after an injury, call my office or reach us at the website at the bottom of the screen. I’m happy to visit with you without any cost or obligation and hopefully help put your mind at rest.

The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris