(509) 525-4744
Hablamos Español
February 25th, 2026
You’re recovering from a car accident or truck crash. The medical bills are arriving weekly—sometimes daily.
Emergency room visits, ambulance fees, doctor appointments, physical therapy, and prescription medications. The numbers keep climbing, but your injury case is still months away from settling.
This is one of the most stressful parts of being injured in an accident in Hermiston or anywhere in Eastern Oregon. You’re hurt, you can’t work, and the bills won’t stop coming. Meanwhile, the insurance company is dragging its feet or offering settlements that don’t come close to covering what you owe.
At Hess Injury Law, clients ask us all the time: “How am I supposed to pay these medical bills while I’m waiting for my settlement?”
It’s a fair question, and understanding your options can help reduce some of the anxiety during this difficult time.
First, it helps to understand why injury settlements don’t happen overnight.
Insurance companies take their time investigating claims, reviewing medical records, and trying to find ways to pay less than you deserve. They’re hoping you’ll get desperate and accept a low offer just to make the bills stop.
But there’s another important reason not to rush: you need to know the full extent of your injuries before settling.
If you settle your case before you’ve reached maximum medical improvement—meaning you’re as healed as you’re going to get—you might discover later that you need additional treatment.
Once you settle and sign a release, you can’t go back and ask for more money.
This creates a frustrating situation. You need money now for your medical bills, but settling too quickly could leave you without enough to cover future treatment. So what do you do in the meantime?
Yes, and you should. The first layer of health insurance for most people involved in Oregon crashes is PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage through your own auto insurance carrier (or the insurance carrier for the vehicle in which you were riding at the time of the crash). If you have health insurance through your employer, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare, or Medicaid, this should typically be your second line of defense for paying medical bills after an accident.
Your health insurance will process claims and pay according to your policy terms. You’ll be responsible for deductibles, copays, and any amounts that aren’t covered. But using your health insurance keeps bills from going to collections while your injury case is pending.
Some people hesitate to use health insurance for accident-related injuries because they think the insurance company will raise their rates or drop their coverage.
Generally, that’s not how it works. Your health insurance is there to pay for medical treatment regardless of how you were injured.
Here’s something important to know: when your health insurance pays for treatment related to an accident caused by someone else, they often have a right to be repaid from any settlement you receive.
This is called subrogation (or health insurance reimbursement).
The good news is that these amounts can often be negotiated or eliminated altogether. An experienced personal injury attorney can work with your health insurance company to reduce the amount they’re claiming, meaning more money stays in your pocket.
But even with subrogation, using your health insurance is usually better than letting bills go unpaid.
Some healthcare providers are willing to treat accident victims on what’s called a “lien basis.” This means they agree to provide treatment now and wait to be paid until your case settles.
In exchange, they place a lien on your settlement, guaranteeing they’ll be paid from the proceeds.
Pros:
• Get treatment without paying upfront
• Helpful if you don’t have health insurance
• Allows you to continue necessary care
Cons:
• Providers may charge higher rates
• Liens must be paid when your case settles
• Multiple liens can add up quickly
• Providers may refuse to bill your health insurance, depriving you of the discounts (contractual adjustments) to which you may be entitled
Your attorney should be involved in any agreements involving medical liens. They can help you understand whether the treatment is necessary, whether the rates being charged are reasonable, and how liens will affect your overall settlement.
Medical providers generally have billing departments that handle unpaid accounts. If bills go unpaid for several months, they may be sent to collections. This can hurt your credit score and lead to collection calls and letters.
If you’re working with an attorney on your injury case, let your medical providers know this. Many will be willing to hold off on collection activity if they know a case is pending and they’ll eventually be paid.
Your attorney can send letters to providers explaining that you have an active injury claim and requesting that they delay collection efforts.
Not all providers will agree to wait, but many understand that pushing someone into collections while they’re trying to recover from serious injuries isn’t good for anyone. They’d rather get paid from a settlement than chase an uninsured patient for small monthly payments.
Depending on your auto insurance policy, you may have coverage that helps with medical expenses after an accident.
Oregon requires all auto insurance policies to include personal injury protection, also called PIP coverage. This covers medical expenses, some lost wages, and other costs regardless of who caused the accident.
The minimum PIP medical coverage in Oregon is $15,000, but you can purchase higher amounts.
How PIP helps: PIP coverage is designed to pay quickly so you can get treatment without waiting for the insurance companies to determine fault. If you were injured in a car accident, check with your own insurance company about your PIP benefits.
This money is available to you regardless of whether the other driver was at fault.
Medical payments coverage, sometimes called MedPay, is optional coverage that pays medical expenses after an accident. It works similarly to PIP but may have different limits and terms.
Check your policy to see if you have this coverage and how much is available.
Important: Using PIP or MedPay doesn’t mean you’re admitting fault for the accident. These are benefits you’ve paid for through your insurance premiums, and you have every right to use them when you’re injured.
When your case finally settles, the settlement funds are used to pay various parties in a specific order. Understanding this process helps you know what to expect.
Step 1: Your attorney receives the settlement check, usually made out to both you and your attorney. The check is deposited into a trust account.
Step 2: From there, payments may be made to various parties who have claims on the settlement:
• Medical providers who treated you on a lien basis
• Your health insurance company (under subrogation/reimbursement rights—often negotiated down)
• Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement if applicable
• Your attorney’s fees (based on contingency agreement)
• Any other liens or unpaid bills related to your accident
Step 3: What’s left after all these deductions is yours.
This is why it’s so important to have an experienced attorney who can negotiate to reduce medical liens and subrogation claims. The more they can save you on these amounts, the more money you walk away with.
Yes. Many people don’t realize that medical bills can often be negotiated—both before and after settlement.
Hospitals and medical providers would rather get paid something than send an account to collections and potentially get nothing.
If you’re paying out of pocket without insurance, ask about:
• Financial assistance programs
• Payment plans
• Reduced rates for self-pay patients
• Income-based assistance
Many hospitals have programs for low-income patients that can significantly reduce or eliminate bills.
Your attorney can negotiate with medical providers who have liens on your settlement. These negotiations can sometimes result in substantial reductions, allowing more of the settlement to go to you rather than to cover medical bills.
In some cases, medical bills and liens can exceed the settlement amount. This is more common in cases where the at-fault party has minimal insurance coverage.
Oregon requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident for bodily injury. If you’re seriously injured, your medical bills alone might exceed this amount.
When bills exceed the available settlement, your attorney will work to negotiate reductions with medical providers and lienholders.
The goal is to resolve everything within the available funds and ensure you’re not stuck with unpaid balances, and ultimately to end up with money in your pocket, too.
This is another reason why having an experienced attorney matters. They understand how to structure settlements and negotiate with providers to maximize what you receive while satisfying legitimate claims against the settlement.
We understand how stressful it is to watch medical bills arrive week after week while your case slowly works its way toward settlement.
The financial pressure can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re also missing work because of your injuries.
Keep detailed records: Save every bill, statement, and explanation of benefits. Keep a spreadsheet or folder organized by provider.
Communicate with providers: Let them know you have an injury case pending. Many providers will work with patients who are honest about their situation.
Don’t let collection calls add stress: If you’re represented by an attorney, refer collection agencies to your attorney’s office.
Focus on your recovery: Get the treatment your doctors recommend. Missing appointments or skipping physical therapy to save money might seem like a good idea now, but it can hurt both your recovery and your case.
Having an attorney involved early in your case can make managing medical bills much easier.
• Communicate with medical providers regarding finances on your behalf
• Help identify which insurance coverages you have available
• Work with doctors willing to treat on a lien basis – if necessary
• Keep track of all medical expenses and bills
• Negotiate with providers and insurance companies to reduce amounts owed
• Fight to get you the maximum settlement possible
Most importantly, we fight to get you the maximum settlement possible so there’s enough money to cover your bills and compensate you fairly for your injuries and losses.
After an accident in Hermiston or anywhere in Eastern Oregon, you deserve to focus on getting better—not on figuring out how to juggle medical bills you can’t afford.
The at-fault party’s insurance company should be paying for your treatment, but the reality is that they don’t pay your bills as you go – they typically only pay at the end of the case, and they’ll delay and lowball you for as long as possible.
• Access your PIP or MedPay coverage
• Use your health insurance (understanding subrogation)
• Negotiate payment plans with hospitals
• Have your attorney communicate with providers
Don’t let financial pressure force you into accepting an unfair settlement. And don’t skip medical treatment because you’re worried about the bills.
There are options for managing medical expenses while your case is pending, and an experienced attorney can help you navigate them.
At Hess Injury Law, we understand the financial stress that comes with being injured in an accident. We’ve helped countless clients in Eastern Oregon manage their medical bills while pursuing fair compensation for their injuries.
If you’re struggling with mounting medical expenses after an accident, call us for a free consultation.
We’ll review your situation and explain your options for managing bills while we work to get you the settlement you deserve.
Contact Hess Injury Law today to discuss your injury case and medical bills.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel.
Peter J. Hess grew up in Walla Walla, Washington. He is a 1996 graduate of Walla Walla High School and a 2000 graduate of the University of Washington, with a B.A. in Business Administration/Information Systems.
Peter graduated from Willamette University College of Law, with honors, in 2007. While at Willamette, he was an Associate Editor of the Willamette Law Review, he was a Teacher’s Assistant for a Legal Research and Writing professor, and he worked as a Personal Injury Law Clerk at Swanson, Lathen, Alexander & McCann in Salem, Oregon. After graduation from Willamette, Peter began working here at Hess Injury Law. In 2012, he became a partner in the firm. He is licensed to practice law in both Washington and Oregon.