Hughes & Coleman | Injury Law Blog

A lien is a fancy legal word that in practical terms means a right to property until a debt is paid.  In the case of car wrecks, a lien against your claim is basically a promise to pay debts incurred out of any settlement or judgment received against the other driver or his insurance company. 

There are different kinds of liens – one kind is when people ask their doctors or bill collectors to take liens against their settlements to pay medical bills incurred after a wreck.  Other kinds of liens are those created by specific laws. For instance, if Medicare, Tenncare, or the Veterans’ Administration pay medical benefits to you, there are specific laws giving them the right to be repaid out of your settlement.  The same goes for most types of private health insurance plans or TriCare (military dependent benefits).  Similarly, if you miss work and have a short- or long-term disability insurance policy provided through your employer, most of those plans have a legal right to assert a lien for repayment as well. 

The bottom line to anyone who makes a claim as a result of an accident is this: liens MUST be repaid out of any settlement or judgment, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

When people are hurt in car accidents, they often find themselves out of work.  If this period is only a few days long, most folks can find a way to make due: they can use sick leave or vacation time on the job, or simply go without pay for a few days and tighten their belts.  It’s an inconvenience but usually one folks can live with. Once they get back to work, things usually are okay.  That’s good, because the medical bills from the accident usually start to show up within a few weeks.

If they miss more than just a few days from the job though, especially if they have no sick leave or vacation time saved up to use, it can result in a big financial crunch. When that happens,  your lawyer usually has at least one tool to help keep the collections people at bay. We can offer your doctor or their bill collectors something called a “lien” against your claim.  I will talk with you more about the ins and outs of liens, and some special kinds of liens, in a future post.  For now though, the simple explanation is that you would agree to allow the medical bills to be paid out of any settlement you obtain as a result of the accident, and your attorney agrees to honor and pay those bills on you behalf when the claim settles.

Popularity: 1% [?]