how did he do it?

September 16, 2012 12:43 PM

Has this guy found a way to not pay medical bills, if so, what is it? (in the USA)

A friend of my parents had an accident while driving his cargo truck (self employed as truck driver, during work hours). He has outrageous medical bills pending, and has visited a lawyer since he has no medical insurance.

Yesterday during a visit, he told my parents that the lawyer told him not to worry, he was sure he wouldn't have to pay a dime. We were super impressed, and I assumed that he meant he was filing for bankruptcy. Only I just found out he isn't. How did he manage?

We live in VA. He does not own his house, but he makes about 70k/year driving, so he's not low income (I think). Google has not given me any answers other than bankruptcy, so I'm confused, but I don't want to ask him the details of his financial situation.

About the accident - there wasn't anyone else involved, so someone else's insurance isn't a possible source, either.

posted by Tarumba to work & money (13 answers total)

Presumably the driver's lawyer thinks he can prove negligence on someone else's part that contributed to the driver's accident. As a simple hypothetical, a lawyer might get some money for his client's medical expenses if the lawyer could put together a reasonable case that a defect in the truck's tires caused the accident, a defect that the manufacturer knew about, but failed to rectify.
posted by RichardP at 12:53 PM on September 16, 2012

Some hospitals partially or completely forgive debts from people without insurance who can never possibly pay them.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:05 PM on September 16, 2012

There's not enough information here to answer your question, so any answer will be speculative.

That said, there could be another party who was negligent, etc.
posted by dfriedman at 1:07 PM on September 16, 2012

Possibly he had medical on his car insurance?
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:07 PM on September 16, 2012

It could also be that this guy is full of shit and he's just not going to pay regardless of what it does to his credit, etc.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:08 PM on September 16, 2012 [6 favorites]

It is possible, if not likely, that his vehicle insurance will cover medical bills related to the accident--since he does not have medical insurance the vehicle insurance will be primary for covering medical expenses. it really depends on the extent and type of insurance he has. If he does not have have vehicle insurance the only other scenarios that immediately come to mind are "negligence" as noted, bankruptcy, or he may qualify for certain types of medicaid/medicare depending on age,disability, family size, over all financial situation.
posted by rmhsinc at 1:10 PM on September 16, 2012

The hospital will kick the bill to collections, and when/if they figure out that this guy makes 70K, they will be all over him. But then again, a truck driver isn't always the most reachable person, depending on the kind of truck-work.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:25 PM on September 16, 2012

Workers' comp insurance is probably paying for it. Even if he's an independent contractor, in many situations the WC insurance of the company for which he was driving when he got in the accident will have to pick up the claim.
posted by amro at 1:40 PM on September 16, 2012 [7 favorites]

Seconding worker's comp.
posted by cooker girl at 3:17 PM on September 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Workers Comp sounds like the most likely answer, but it's also possible 70k is what he is making before his expenses like diesel, truck payments and maintenance, and other business expenses. He may show that he is taking home much less and many hospitals forgive or dramatically lower hospital bills for people who make a living wage. As an example, I know of a hospital that wrote off 60% of a hospital stay for a single person with no dependents who made about 35k for tax purposes.
posted by prettymightyflighty at 6:40 PM on September 16, 2012

My understanding is that good lawyers will not guarantee specific results. Some state bars prohibit it, I think. Before thinking that he's found some miraculous loophole through which truck drivers get paid for their work but medical staff do not, wait to see how it winds up. Seconding fluffy battle kitten's hypothesis that he's "full of shit" and just not going to pay.
posted by Houstonian at 12:31 AM on September 17, 2012

Are you in a no-fault state? Under no-fault, insurance companies pay up to a certain amount of medical bills regardless of who is at fault. But it's probably worker's comp.
posted by inertia at 12:15 PM on September 17, 2012

turns out it was bullshit, as suspected. He's filing for bankruptcy. I was all excited medical bills had a way around them.
posted by Tarumba at 4:25 PM on October 19, 2012 [1 favorite]