This particular man was in a shopping center crossing the street when he was hit by a car entering the shopping center. The driver was going about 25-30 miles per hour. He hit the man squarely on the left side of his body, causing him to go flying through the air and land about ten feet from where he started. The injured man was rushed by ambulance to the closest trauma center where he was diagnosed as having a broken femur (the largest bone in your body), trauma to his face, and a bleed under his skull. The victim required a tracheostomy; a hole made in his windpipe to allow a tube from a ventilator to help him breathe. This injured victim spent more than three weeks in the hospital.
When he was discharged, he was sent to a rehabilitation facility and ultimately made his way home.
The driver of the car had insurance. However, when I investigated the insurance policy he had, it turns out it was a "limited" policy. This means it was a relatively low policy amount. Shortly after I was able to document all of my client's injuries to the insurance company, they promptly paid the full insurance policy since they recognized that the injuries my client suffered far exceeded the available insurance in this case.
Q: What other options were available to this young man after the insurance company "tendered" (paid) the insurance policy?
A: One option would have been to sue the driver personally and try to get a judgment against him. If successful, then I would be able to enforce the judgment by seizing his property in order to fulfill the judgment. However, after investigating this possibility, we learned that the driver had no assets- at least none that were in his name. Bringing a lawsuit against him, just to get a "paper" judgment would serve the client no purpose.
THE GOVERNMENT STEPS IN...
In this case, my client had been receiving medicare benefits because of a pre-existing disability. When Medicare learned (as they always do) that my client had received some compensation for his injuries, they asserted a "lien" against the proceeds of his case. This meant that they were asserting their right to recoup money that Medicare paid for his hospital and medical bills arising out of this car accident. The medical bills alone were astronomical. They were over $300,000! Medicare wanted everything that my client would receive as his share of the settlement. In effect, this young man potentially would get nothing as a result of his injuries.
I appealed to Medicare advising them that it would be tragic if this young man who was severely injured were required to pay back Medicare everything he was awarded in the settlement. Yet Medicare made a reasonable argument: Who else paid for his medical bills when he was in the hospital? Nobody. He did not have any other health insurance. Medicare did not expect to get reimbursed for paying his medical bills. But, when an injured victim brings a lawsuit seeking compensation from the driver of a car, bus, truck or someone else- and is successful, then Medicare steps in and says "You are now required to reimburse us." Many times Medicare will try to negotiate with you, depending upon the amount you recover. Yet the bottom line is that they must be repaid.
If your attorney ignores a Medicare lien, they do so at their peril. If your lawyer pays you your net share of the settlement without allocating money for Medicare, this is what will happen. Medicare will file a lawsuit against your attorney in federal court. They will ask not only for the money that they were supposed to recover, but also ask for three times the amount (called treble damages). Needless to say, if your lawyer has reached this stage, he has significant problems. The government is not required to go after the client (you, the injured victim). Your lawyer may try to get the money back from you, but what if you already spent it? Now the lawyer has even bigger problems.
The bottom line? Medicare must be repaid.
The bottom line for this client? He got the short end of the stick since the driver of the car that hit him did not have sufficient car insurance to cover the severe injuries he received. Then, the government stepped in and asked for the total amount of money to cover at least some of their expenses. After an appeal to Medicare, they were "generous" enough to allow my client to take home a token amount of the original compensation he was entitled to receive.
What is the moral of this story? Carry enough car insurance on your insurance policy to cover a serious injury. Then buy an "umbrella" policy (also known as an excess policy) to protect you and your assets in the event your main insurance policy is insufficient to pay compensation to someone seriously injured.
Thanks for taking the time to become informed.
About Gerry:
Gerry Oginski is an experienced medical malpractice & personal injury trial lawyer practicing law in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, New York, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk & Long Island and has been in practice since 1988.
He is a graduate of Touro College, Jacob Fuchsberg College of Law in Huntington, NY and he is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. He started his legal career working for a defense firm on Wall Street representing doctors, hospitals and businesses who were sued. Four years later he felt the gravitational pull to represent injured victims of medical negligence and accidents. After doing defense work, he joined a personal injury law firm in Brooklyn, NY representing injured victims, and then four years later, joined forces with a large law firm in Queens, NY. While there, he was in charge of the medical malpractice department, and in 2002 opened his own office for the practice of law. His main office is located in Great Neck, Long Island, and he has affiliate offices in Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Gerry prides himself on knowing all the details of each case he handles. Cases are not handed off to associates. When a client calls, he doesn't need to check a file to determine what happened last on the client's case. He knows what happened, since he was the one who handled the matter.
Gerry has become a prolific writer and publishes a monthly newsletter full of legal news, fun trivia games, and a never-ending fictional story that has won him accolades with all who read his newsletter. In addition to his newsletter, he has produced and created an entire video library of instructional videos that help consumers learn about medical malpractice and accident law in New York.
Gerry welcomes all calls about any accident or injury from a doctor or hospital in the State of New York. He promises to give you a straightforward and honest answer about every question you ask. Take a look at his website, where he has over 200 FAQ's, free reports about medical malpractice, wrongful death and accident cases, actual testimony of doctors in cases he's handled, and an entire video library you really should see.
If that's not enough, take a look at his blog where he offers free information about medical malpractice and accident law and when you've finished reading his blog at http://nymedicalmalpractice.blogspot.com, jump over to his video blog where he has most of his videos posted at http://medicalmalpracticetutorial.blogspot.com - you'll be glad you did.
