Who pays for my medical expenses and lost wages?
In Massachusetts, the standard insurance policy has a provision called Personal Injury Protection Benefits, also known as “PIP Benefits.” Most people have $8,000.00 in available coverage, which means that the insurance company will pay up to $8,000.00 in medical expenses and lost wages combined. Usually, the insurance policy for the vehicle that you were occupying will provide the coverage and it will not increase the premiums of the policy owner. If you have private health insurance, according to the current state of the law, PIP will only cover $2,000.00 and your health insurance will cover the rest. It is very important to comply with the conditions of your private health insurance to make sure that the treatment is covered. The coordination of insurance benefits is one reason why a qualfiied lawyer is required. You don’t want to end up with outstanding medical bills. Lost wages will be compensated at a rate of 75% of your average weekly wage provided that a doctor provides a note s
This is the “No Fault” part of the No Fault law. Each injured person, regardless of fault, must file a claim against their own auto insurance for lost wages, medical expenses and replacement services. The amount of coverage available depends on the policy owned by the person claiming benefits. Replacement services are the hiring of someone to do those jobs the injured party would have done around the house, if not injured. There are basically three (3) types of coverage for the medical benefits: (1) Full Coverage. Both the auto insurance and the health insurance may be required to pay for medical benefits; also the income replacement insurance and the auto insurance may be required to pay lost wage benefits. (2) Coordinated Benefits. The injured party first must claim against the medical insurance and the income replacement insurance coverage; anything not paid by those sources must be submitted to the auto insurance company. The auto insurance is also coordinated with Worker’s Compens
