If I am in an auto accident, how do I pay for my medical expenses?
PIP, also known as “basic reparations benefits”, is money that is immediately available to help you with medical expenses and to offset lost wages. PIP is available without regard to fault. If you are injured in an auto collision in the state of Kentucky then most likely you will have PIP or “personal injury protection” benefits of $10,000. (The exception to this is if you are in violation of state law by owning an uninsured motor vehicle. In that event, YOU become personally responsible for the first $10,000 of your medical bills even if the collision was someone else’s fault!) PIP is almost always paid by your own insurance company. (This will not raise your rates and your own company generally gets paid back by the defense carrier.) PIP covers lost wages and replacement services up to $200/week as well as medical expenses. It also includes a $1,000 funeral benefit which, hopefully, you won’t need.
You have the right, under Kentucky law, to “reserve” your PIP benefits for a particular purpose such as lost wages.
Your benefits should be reserved for lost wages if you are incurring lost wages immediately or think that you may in the future incur lost wages. For instance, if you have disability benefits that will provide you with coverage for a limited period of time or if you think that you may eventually need surgery, then reserving all of your PIP for lost wages may be the most prudent choice for you. However, if you do not have health insurance then you may need to be accessing your PIP benefits immediately to get the medical treatment that you need. In cases where you need immediate money for medical bills because you have no health insurance AND you are also incurring lost wages, you should use that half of your PIP be held for lost wages and the other half be used for medical bills.
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