A medical lien is a claim that your healthcare provider places on any future personal injury judgment or settlement that you might receive. Its purpose is to guarantee payment of your medical bills if you cannot pay them as they come due. With a valid medical lien, your healthcare provider will take payment of your medical bills before you see any of your settlement money.
A medical lien is a good way to assure your healthcare provider that you will eventually pay your medical bills even if you can’t pay them as they come due. You’re going to need legal assistance, however, because a medical lien can work against your interests if you don’t handle the process properly.
Legal Framework in Jacksonville
The state of Florida is unique in that it no longer has a statewide lien statute. Hence, the enforcement of medical liens is given to individual counties. For example, the Jacksonville Ordinance Code sets the parameters for medical liens in Jacksonville, Florida.
Special Case: Car Accidents
Florida is a no-fault state when it comes to car accidents. That means your own PIP insurance policy typically pays your medical expenses up to $10,000, even if the accident was the other driver’s fault. In this case, your healthcare provider can seek payment directly from your PIP insurance company, bypassing you.
Types of Medical Liens
Florida recognizes the following types of medical liens:
- Hospital Liens: for emergency room visits, surgery, and inpatient care
- Doctor Liens: individual physicians’ treatment
- Insurance Liens: from your health insurance provider
- Medicaid and Medicare Liens: for treatment covered by Medicaid or Medicare
Under federal law, Medicaid and Medicare liens typically take priority over other types of liens.
How Medical Liens Work
You will receive medical treatment starting immediately after your injury. Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), healthcare providers must provide you with emergency treatment regardless of your ability to pay. That doesn’t mean treatment is free, it just means you get treatment whether or not you can pay for it. Even if it’s not emergency treatment, healthcare providers might agree to treat you in exchange for a medical lien.
Your healthcare provider will then file a lien. This is a legal document. It amounts to a bill that you must satisfy before you can receive any money from a personal injury judgment or settlement. It’s possible (although unlikely) that you might not receive any money if the amount of your lien exceeds the amount of your judgment or settlement.
It’s best if you take into account the amount of your lien when negotiating a settlement with the defendant. You (or your lawyer) will need to insist that your settlement exceeds the amount of your lien – to cover most of your earnings, pain and suffering, etc. You might also consider negotiating the amount of your medical lien with your healthcare provider.
Once you reach a settlement or judgment, the lien will come out of the amount. There will be other deductions as well, such as attorney’s fees and court fees. The amount that goes into your pocket is the amount that remains after you pay all deductions.
Jacksonville’s Medical Lien Ordinance
Jacksonville’s medical lien ordinance specifies the nuts and bolts of how medical liens work locally:
- To establish a lien, your healthcare provider must first provide the medical services that the lien will cover.
- Before or within six months of your discharge, your healthcare provider must also file a lien with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Duval County.
- The filing must include your name, your healthcare provider’s name, the date of medical services, and the amount of money you owe. The lien must also describe the services rendered.
- To perfect the lien, the healthcare provider must notify you or your lawyer and anyone else who is claimed to be liable on account of your lien.
The lienholder might intervene in a personal injury lawsuit to make sure the court knows about the lienholder’s interest in the case.
How You Can Use Jacksonville’s Medical Lien Ordinance to Your Advantage
Jacksonville’s medical lien ordinance standardized the practice of filing medical liens throughout the city. You can use this ordinance in your favor in the following ways:
- Your lawyer can watch deadlines. If your healthcare provider misses a relevant deadline, they will lose the right to assert a lien against you.
- You can also watch to make sure that your healthcare provider complies with all of the formalities of filing a medical lien. You can challenge the lien if it doesn’t comply with the ordinance.
- Jacksonville’s medical lien ordinance is very specific about the type of documentation it demands. Your lawyer can scrutinize these records and use any deficiencies as negotiating leverage.
All these things will be to your advantage in settlement negotiations.
Negotiation and Payment
You may need to negotiate the amount of your lien and seek a reduction in its amount if paying it will leave you with a settlement balance that is insufficient to cover you for other losses you incurred. On the other side, when you negotiate your personal injury settlement, you will need to consider the amount on the lien to make sure your settlement covers it.
Never forget that you will never see any money from your judgment or settlement until your medical lien has already been paid.
How to Protect Yourself From Medical Lienholders
Take the following steps to protect your interests:
- Get a lawyer involved right from the very beginning. Choose an attorney who understands how medical liens work in Jacksonville, and who knows how to negotiate them.
- Review your medical bills. Your lawyer should ensure that all the charges on your medical bills are accurate and related to your injury.
- Settle your medical lien BEFORE you settle your personal injury claim. That way you’ll have a better idea of how much money you will end up taking home with you
Talk with your lawyer if you have any questions.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer
If your medical bills are significant, you are definitely going to need a lawyer to help you arrange a lien. The last thing you need is a settlement that adds up to less than the amount you owe in medical bills.
You can be sure that if a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer agrees to take your case on a contingency fee basis, they believe they can win it. Contact our experienced attorneys at Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers at (904) 396-1100 to schedule a free consultation.
