Medical Bills After an Accident: Who Pays in Illinois?

After an accident, many people expect insurance to handle their medical expenses. However, once the hospital bills begin to arrive, the situation often becomes more complicated. In Illinois, determining who is responsible for paying these expenses depends on several factors, including fault, insurance coverage, and the type of accident involved.

If you are already facing medical bills and uncertainty about your legal rights, speaking with an experienced attorney can help clarify your options. Contact Michael J. Brennan today for a free consultation. With over 35 years of legal experience, he can help protect your finances and ensure you are not paying out of pocket for someone else’s mistake.

Understanding Financial Responsibility in Illinois

Illinois follows a fault-based insurance model. This means the party who is legally responsible for causing the accident is also responsible for paying for the damages, including medical costs. If another driver caused your injuries, their auto liability insurance should ultimately cover your expenses.

However, Illinois uses a comparative fault system, which means that if you are partially responsible for the accident, your compensation can be reduced. For example, if you are found to be 20 percent at fault, your recovery would be reduced by that percentage. If you are more than 50 percent at fault, you are not eligible to recover damages from the other party.

While fault is being determined, your own insurance often steps in. Many Illinois drivers carry optional Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay) as part of their auto policy. MedPay can help cover immediate medical expenses, regardless of who was at fault. However, this coverage is usually limited and does not extend to long-term or complex care.

If MedPay is unavailable or exhausted, your health insurance becomes the primary payer. This can result in deductibles, co-pays, or uncovered services. If your treatment was provided by out-of-network providers, you may also face significant out-of-pocket charges.

When Insurance Does Not Fully Cover the Costs

Once insurance benefits are used, patients are often left with the balance. In theory, the at-fault party’s insurance will reimburse you for these expenses. In practice, disputes about liability, medical necessity, or the amount of damages can delay or reduce that reimbursement.

For serious injuries, it is often necessary to file a personal injury claim. This process involves proving the other party was negligent and that their actions directly caused your injuries. If successful, you may recover compensation for not only your medical costs but also lost wages, future treatment, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

In addition to car accidents, similar legal principles apply to other incidents. If you were injured on someone else’s property, in a workplace incident, or in a pedestrian accident, the responsible party’s insurance may still be liable for your care. Identifying and holding that party accountable, however, often requires legal action.

Legal Support and Strategic Advocacy

Attorney Michael J. Brennan has extensive experience guiding clients through the financial and legal challenges that arise after an injury. His background as a former prosecutor and decades of civil litigation experience provide him with insight into how insurers operate and how to counteract delay tactics or denied claims.

In many cases, he helps clients address not only who should pay, but how to reduce what is owed. That can include negotiating directly with hospitals, working with billing departments to defer payments, or contesting inappropriate charges from out-of-network providers. In more complex situations, he files personal injury lawsuits to pursue full and fair compensation through the courts.

For example, one of Mr. Brennan’s clients was seriously injured in a rear-end collision. Despite carrying health insurance, they were billed over twenty thousand dollars in trauma care from an out-of-network provider. After months of back-and-forth with the insurer, Michael intervened, had the charges reviewed, and secured full coverage for the client through a combination of liability and health insurance reimbursements.

Steps to Take After an Accident

If you have been injured in an accident in Illinois and are facing medical bills, legal advice early in the process can make a significant difference. An experienced attorney can help ensure you are not unfairly burdened with costs that should be covered by someone else. He can also prevent mistakes that might affect your ability to recover compensation later.

Attorney Michael J. Brennan offers free consultations to individuals facing medical expenses after an injury. There is no obligation to proceed, and all personal injury cases are handled on a contingency basis, which means there are no legal fees unless you recover compensation.