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After a car accident or serious injury, the bills don’t wait. Ambulance rides, ER visits, follow-up appointments, physical therapy, surgeries—medical expenses add up fast. In many cases, people rely on their injury settlement to cover these costs. But what happens when the settlement isn’t enough?
Scott Scherr and The Payne Law Group have worked with many clients facing this exact issue. Below, we explain your options and how we can help ensure you don’t pay more than you should.
Why Settlements Sometimes Fall Short
A settlement is intended to compensate you for your losses—medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. But several factors can lead to a situation where your medical bills exceed the final amount:
- Low insurance policy limits: If the at-fault driver has minimal coverage, the payout may be capped.
- High medical costs: Catastrophic injuries or lengthy hospital stays can quickly surpass six figures.
- Delays in care or diagnosis: New issues may surface after a settlement is reached, making it more difficult to ask for more.
- Shared fault or legal challenges: If liability is disputed or your percentage of fault is high, your damages may be reduced.
Sometimes, the insurance company just offers far less than you deserve. Without legal guidance, you may not even realize how much more you could have claimed.
What Are Your Options?
If your settlement doesn’t fully cover your medical expenses, you still have options. Here’s what we typically look at with our clients:
Negotiating Medical Bills
Many hospitals and providers are willing to negotiate balances, especially if you were injured through no fault of your own. We can often help reduce your bills by:
- Working directly with providers
- Demonstrating financial hardship
- Explaining the limits of your settlement
- Requesting itemized statements to identify errors or overcharges
This isn’t something you have to do on your own. We regularly help clients through this process.
Using Health Insurance or Government Assistance
If your private health insurance or a government program like Medicare or Medicaid paid for any part of your care, they may be entitled to reimbursement through your settlement—a process called subrogation. That said, these entities are often open to negotiation as well.
Reducing or waiving these repayment amounts can help you keep more of your settlement to cover other costs.
Filing Additional Claims
Depending on the facts of your case, there may be other avenues for compensation:
- Underinsured motorist coverage through your own auto policy
- Umbrella policies that provide additional coverage
- Third-party claims (for example, if defective equipment contributed to your injury)
We explore every possibility to make sure no source of compensation is left untapped.
Challenging an Inadequate Settlement
If you settled too soon—before fully understanding the extent of your injuries—it may be difficult to reopen the case. But in some situations, if there was fraud, mistake, or inadequate representation, there could be legal grounds to revisit the settlement.
How to Avoid This Situation in the First Place
The best way to avoid a settlement that doesn’t cover your medical bills is to work with a law firm that fights for your full recovery—not just the quick payout.
Here’s what we do to protect our clients:
- Thoroughly investigate the extent of your injuries
- Account for future medical care, not just past bills
- Push back when insurance companies undervalue your claim
- Delay settlement until you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) or have a clear picture of your prognosis
- Coordinate with your healthcare providers to reduce or defer bills while the claim is pending
Every case is different, but our goal is always the same: to make sure you walk away with enough to cover your medical needs and move forward with peace of mind.
When Should You Call Attorney Scott Scherr?
If you’re worried your medical bills are higher than what you’ll recover—or if you’ve already settled and don’t know what to do next—don’t wait to get legal help. The earlier we can step in, the more we can do to protect your interests.
And if you haven’t accepted a settlement yet, don’t sign anything until you speak with someone who knows how these cases work. You might be entitled to more than you think.
Call Scott Scherr at The Payne Law Group Today
No one should have to choose between getting medical care and staying financially afloat. If your medical bills are more than your settlement—or you want to avoid that outcome in the first place—contact Scott Scherr at The Payne Law Group today for a free consultation.
We’ll take the time to understand your case, explain your rights, and fight to get every dollar you’re owed.