HOW TO GET MEDICAL BILLS PAID AFTER A SLIP FALL ACCIDENT INJURY
Our lawyers get frequent calls from people injured after they slipped and fell. Therefore, we are well aware that a slip fall or trip and fall accident can result in very serious injuries, and high medical bills.
Many people believe that the property owner is automatically responsible if you are injured on their property. However, for the most part that is not true. Generally, the property owner is only legally responsible for your injury and medical bills if the property owner did something wrong to cause the slip fall accident. For example, in the winter, the property owner may have completely neglected to sand and salt an icy sidewalk. Or, a restaurant employee may have spilled grease in the dining area that someone later slips on.
All slip and fall cases in Minnesota are challenging for lawyers. This is because the fault of the injured person must be compared to the property owner. Therefore, the insurance company defense is always “why didn’t the injured person see and avoid the dangerous condition?”
INJURED ON SOMEONE’S PROPERTY ASK ABOUT MEDICAL PAYMENT INSURANCE
But even though the property owner’s insurance company may decide to fight the issue of legal responsibility for a slip and fall accident injury, the insurance policy often will have automatic Medical Payment Coverage. Medical Payment Coverage provides a certain amount of money for medical expenses for any injury on the property (usually at least $5,000) regardless of fault. The property owner’s insurance will pay the Medical Payment coverage directly to the doctors or hospital as soon as they get the bills and have some proof that the accident happened on the property.
You don’t have to prove the property owner did anything wrong to get this Medical Payment Coverage. However, the amount of coverage is limited to a relatively small amount – which is why our lawyers look very carefully at these cases to see if we can prove the property owner was at fault for the accident. Our goal when someone is injured on another person’s or business’s property is to get people full compensation.
In addition to Medical Payment Coverage, your own health insurance will continue to cover you if you have a slip fall accident. However, if you are successful in pursuing a claim against the property owner, your health insurance will want to be repaid.
If you are injured in a slip fall accident on someone else’s property in MN, please call us to discuss the situation with a lawyer. We will investigate whether the property owner can be held legally responsible for full compensation, and we will advise you on the Medical Payment Coverage. The initial consultation is free and we never charge anything unless you are compensated.