Medical Liens
After getting injured and seeking medical treatment, one is often left owing a significant amount of medical bills. These bills, of course, must be paid. To add insult to injury, hospitals and medical providers want to be paid out of the settlement proceeds before an injured person receives money. Medical providers also want to be paid at an amount much greater than what a health insurance company would pay at a negotiated rate.
In an attempt to be paid out of a settlement, hospitals and other medical providers file what is commonly referred to as a “medical lien.” Medical liens are authorized by O.C.G.A. § 44-14-470. These liens are not liens against the individual patient or against any property or assets of the patient. Rather, the lien is against the injured person’s claim, cause of action, and settlement proceeds.
Injured persons have rights under Georgia law allowing them to defeat and negotiate medical liens. O.C.G.A. § 44-14-471 outlines these rights and the requirements that must be met for a lien to be enforceable. Some of these requirements include the following.
- Written notice must be sent to the patient prior to the lien being filed;
- The lien must be filed in a timely manner in the superior court of the county where the medical provider is located and in the county of the patient’s residence; and,
- The hospital or medical provider must first submit the claim to the patient’s health insurance company and the claim must have been rejected.
Our firm has successfully defeated and negotiated hundreds of liens. We work diligently on behalf of our clients to maximize their settlement. Although defeating a lien does not wipe away the medical bill, it gives leverage to negotiate the medical bill and maximize a client’s settlement.
Handling medical liens requires specialized skill and knowledge. If you’ve been injured due to the fault of someone else, give us a call for a free consultation. We work to maximize settlements for our clients and ensure their rights are being protected. We verify whether liens are timely filed, whether proper notice was given, and whether the medical provider attempted to submit the claim to the health insurance company.