What is a Lien in a Personal Injury Case?

A lien is the right of another party besides the original owner to specific property as security for a debt. In personal injury cases, other parties may possess this right to some of your lawsuit proceeds. This may include those who provided you with medical treatment or initially paid for it, such as medical insurance companies, hospitals, or doctors. Liens help creditors protect their rights and make certain that they’ll get payment for their services. If you received medical treatment for injuries that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be required to satisfy a lien before you can recover your settlement.

How Does a Medical Lien Work?

If you’re a victim of medical malpractice, you likely received medical treatment as a result of the error made by a healthcare professional. If your health insurer paid for those medical treatments, they have a right to reimbursement for the treatments they paid for the injuries you sustained because of the malpractice. You’ll reimburse your health insurance company for its outstanding balance from your settlement. In some cases it may be negotiable, but there are specific liens that require full reimbursement.

Contact Us

At Buchanan Firm, our team of Michigan personal injury lawyers has decades of experience handling medical malpractice cases. We are also very experienced with medical liens and negotiating with insurance companies. We are patients’ advocates who will do everything we can to maximize any award of money for our client in a medical malpractice case.