Health Insurance and Boynton Beach Bicycle Accidents

It is always important that one has health insurance to take care of their medical needs. However, when someone on their bicycle is involved in an accident with a motor vehicle, if the bicyclist has motor vehicle coverage, their own insurance covers the medical care and treatment bills.

When the person does not own a motor vehicle, the insurance of the car that hit them may cover their medical expenses depending on who is at fault for the accident. This is no-fault insurance or personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. When a person is on a bicycle and is hit or is involved in a motor vehicle accident, their own car insurance covers them, or the insurance for the car of the person that hit them covers them. Speak with a professional bicycle accident attorney from Kogan & DiSalvo to learn more about health insurance and Boynton Beach bicycle accidents.

Health Insurance

When a bicyclist is involved in an accident involving a motor vehicle and they do not own a car and do not live with anyone who owns a car, the insurance for the car that hits the bicyclist is responsible for paying for their medical bills.

The PIP or no-fault insurance only pays up to $10,000 of medical bills. When a bicycle rider has serious injuries and the injuries bring about medical expenses above $10,000, health insurance is important to have. Depending on the severity of the injuries, the bill could be tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When the bills are paid by health insurance; it is easier to resolve the case for the benefit of the bicycle rider. If the bicycle rider does not have health insurance and has substantial medical bills, those must be addressed at the end of the case. Learn more about health insurance and Boynton Beach bicycle accidents by working with a dedicated injury attorney.

Compensation for Damages in a Bike Accident

When trying to understand the relationship between health insurance and Boynton Beach bicycle accidents, a person should note that the insurance pays for medical treatment triggered by the bicycle accident. The health insurer is also entitled to be compensated for the amount they paid for medical treatment.

It is important to know that medical insurance pays doctors at a lower rate than the doctors charge when someone is a private patient. If a doctor charges a person $100 for an office visit and the person has no insurance, they owe $100 to the doctor at the end of the case. However, when the person has health insurance and the health insurance pays the doctor $30 for the visit, the person must pay back their health insurance $30.

Having health insurance does not limit the recovery a person receives from an accident. Depending on the injuries, health insurance reduces the number of medical bills that must be paid out and that is helpful in resolving a bicycle accident injury case.

Paid Sick Leave

Paid sick leave is a similar situation when a person gets sick leave and is reimbursed for that sick leave. Sick leave is treated the same way as missing work. If a person is out of work for a month due to a severe injury they sustained in a bicycle accident, the person who caused the accident is responsible for that one month of lost wages.

If, however, the person has sick leave that is a benefit from their employer that covers their salary for a month, and the person used up that month, they are entitled for reimbursement for that benefit. In other words, if a person had to use vacation time because they were out of work due to their injuries, that is compensable; that is recoverable from the at-fault party. Speak with an attorney about health insurance and Boynton Beach bicycle accidents.