by Deborah Bates Riordan, Esq. and Theodore Riordan, Esq.
When you’re injured in a car accident, you may think your health insurer is going to pay your medical bills. It may, at some point. But primary responsibility for your medical bills falls on a different insurer: the insurance company for the car you were occupying.
Every Massachusetts automobile insurance policy has what’s called Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) coverage. Under PIP, each person in a car has up to $8,000 in benefits. The $8,000 can be used for any combination of medical expenses and/or lost wages.
But there’s one exception. If someone has health insurance, then PIP only pays the first $2,000 in medical bills. The medical expenses after the first $2,000 are then paid by the person’s health insurance. But the balance of the $8,000 is still available for lost wages.
Time is important! There’s a special form to fill out in order to obtain the PIP insurance. And it needs to be filed with the insurer soon after the accident. Under some circumstances an insurer could deny payment if the form is filed late.
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