If you're a personal injury attorney, you know that liens can play a significant role in obtaining a favorable resolution for your client. But where should you start when dealing with personal injury liens? What's the best strategy for negotiating and reducing liens? Should you handle hospital, insurance and med pay liens differently?
Don't worry, FindLaw has the answers. FindLaw's attorney writers have just released new and updated personal injury lien resources to help guide attorneys through the process. Here's a quick overview:
1. Negotiating Tips for Hospital Liens in Personal Injury Cases
If you've come across a hospital lien, you know these can be especially problematic. Hospitals often grossly inflate the costs claimed in liens, sometimes refusing to bill the insurer for those costs, and may have statutory lien rights that make it difficult to reduce these liens. This updated lien resource walks practitioners through identifying hospital liens, reducing or removing them and recovering fees and costs.
2. Negotiating Tips for "Med Pay" Claims for Reimbursement
Medical pay lien claims, or med pay lien claims, often arise as claims for reimbursement. Med pay can be used to reimburse client medical bills under some insurance policies while simultaneously pursuing funds from a responsible third party. Here, you can learn about which bills to submit for med pay, how to narrow claims, and how to negotiate them down.
3. Tips for Negotiating ERISA Liens in Personal Injury Cases
Got an ERISA lien? We've got you covered. This article has been newly updated to include the Supreme Court's decision in US Airways v. McCutchen. This section breaks down applicable ERISA law and walks attorneys through the process of narrowing ERISA liens, reducing unreasonable charges, and asserting equitable defenses.
4. Seven Steps to Approaching Lien Claims in Personal Injury Cases
FindLaw's updated lien primer walks personal injury attorneys through the lien process. Starting by explaining ethical and fiduciary obligations, this article breaks down the different type of liens and lien claims, how to deal with lien claimants, and how and when to negotiate liens.
5. How to Deal with Medicare Liens in Personal Injury Cases
Keep Medicare from holding on to your settlement check at the end of your case by following this advice. This updated lien article covers initial contact about Medicare liens, conditional payment letters, dealing with adjusters, and paying, appealing or waiving Medicare liens.
6. Negotiating Tips for Health Insurance Liens in Personal Injury Cases
Do you want to negotiate a health insurance lien or are you looking for the best ways to reduce a lien claim? These ten tips will give you a leg up. As always, the goal is to reduce. Reduce for actual recovery, reduce for unreasonable charges, reduce for statutory caps -- and then some.
So, if you've got a lien to two in your future, don't sweat it. FindLaw's updated resources should help you manage personal injury liens like a pro.
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