What Kind of Recovery?
There are certain damages recoverable from a dog bite in Pennsylvania. That is to say, if the dog owner is liable for violating Pennsylvania Dog Bite Law, the victim (and spouse) in Pennsylvania may obtain a financial recovery for:
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money for pain and suffering (including for vaccinations required by the bite),
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emotional distress and fear of dogs, generally,
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disfigurement (for a scar),
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emergency medical bills,
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The cost of scar revision procedures, including plastic surgery (microsurgery)
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lost wages (lost work), related to the attack,
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lost earning capacity (not speculative),
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loss of consortium, by a spouse of a dog bite victim, having loss comfort and intimacy,
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damages to your own dog attacked by a vicious canine, and
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special fines for an attack to a support dog or service dog,
Our Pittsburgh dog bite lawyers also help (a) mail carriers and delivery people and the spouse of a victim to recover for loss of companionship (or “consortium”). and the costs of providing care for the victim (c) those who were not bitten but who witnessed another bitten, and (d) those not not bitten but who were injured while fleeing an attack.
Even if Not Bitten…
Even if not scratched or bitten by a dog, the victim of an attack can claim damages for injuries sustained while:
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fleeing an attacking dog, or
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being pushed over and/or dragged by a dog.
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Insurance For Your Recovery
Your Pennsylvania dog bite attorney lawyer needs to think about searching for at least two kinds of insurance to compensate you following a dog bite injury:
(1) insurance to pay your medical bills from your own medical insurance (UPMC, Highmark, Medicare, etc.), or “med pay” or “no fault” (below) on the defendant premises owner’s coverage, and
(2) liability insurance policies that cover the responsible party or parties. Otherwise, it can be difficult in PA to collect against the personal assets of the dog owner or other responsible party.
You need a Pittsburgh lawyer who is aggressive about finding all sources of recovery to compensate you for both pain and suffering, and wages, damage to property, and more. But you have to act quickly to make sure the carriers are on timely notice and that all the technical prerequisites to recovery have been met. We will do the work for you.
Who Pays My Medical Bills?
The owner of the dog may have property insurance that serves as “no fault” coverage(as indicated above), that only for for injuries on the premises of the Defendant.
The amount of “med pay” or “no fault” medical coverage can range from $1,000 to $20,00 or more, but it only pays your medical bills, and does not compensate you for pain, suffering, or disfigurement. This insurance is “primary,” meaning, it must be exhausted first, before your own health insurance should pay.
The property owner may have separate and additional liability coverage for claims for bodily injury, which includes pain and suffering, lost wages or lost earning capacity, and disfigurement.
You should talk to a lawyer before accepting any money. You risk releasing your claims you never intended to release.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
A person attacked by a dog & in the scope of her employment — such as a postal mail carrier or Amazon, UPS or Grub Hub delivery person. There, the victim may have a claims for both workers’ compensation (against the employer) and a claim against the dog owner for lost wages. Click here about claiming lost wages against the dog owner. Click here about claiming lost wages against one’s employer for a dog bite in PA. Further, click here to read about how workers’ comp limits a claim against the employer.
A Lien Against Your Recovery by Workers’ Comp
or Private Insurance
My health insurance provider wrote to me and indicated “we heard you were in an accident.” What does this mean?
When your own health insurance company (or a government agency) pays your medical bills, they can seek sometimes seek re-payment from the recovery you eventually get from the dog owner. Often, this is done through an agent of Highmark or UPMC insurance company called “Trover” or “Trover Solutions.”
Your lawyer should look at your health insurance paperwork. He’ll want to see if the insurance company actually does have a right to be paid back out of your settlement (b) check to see if your health insurance plan qualifies for subrogation.
In other words, don’t just assume you have to pay back your insurance company out of your settlement.
Even if the lien is legitimate, a lawyer can negotiate with your health care providers to reduce the lien to maximize the amount of money that goes into your pocket.
What Happens if You Fail to Pay a Legitimate
Health Insurance Lien?
This can have serious consequences. Your insurance company can deny your future coverage, which could be problematic. For example, let’s say you fail to pay back UPMC insurance for the money it paid for your dog bite related treatment. Then, later on, unrelated to the dog bite, you need your appendix taken out. UMPC could refuse to pay for the appendectomy. Why? Because you failed to honor UPMC’s subrogation claim for the dog bite.
Medicare Liens
We also handle the involvement of Medicare and its “super lien” (which trumps state law), allowing Medicare to get paid first relative to your settlement. At the heart of it all is the Medicare Secondary Payer (“MSP”) statute, section 1862(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(b). This statute ensures that Medicare will not end up paying for treatment that someone else should pay. This gives Medicare the right to a claim (i.e., a lien) to be paid back from judgment or settlement.
There are many complexities associated with liens, but competent counsel can guide you through this, easily. Our Pittsburgh attorneys employ solutions (from experiences in the past) to get the most amount of money into your pocket. We handle all the nuances of these claims that require court approval.
Failing to pay back Medicate has dire and serious consequences.
Money Paid by The Commonwealth of PA or CHIP
Many in Pennsylvania receive medical coverage through the state. Children are often covered by CHIP (the Child Health Insurance Program). These entities will need to be paid back out of your recovery. Your Pittsburgh dog bite lawyer with experience in this area can negotiate down the amount of re-payment.
Possible Double Recovery
Even when your insurance pays for your medical bills or lost time from work, you may be entitle to sue the dog owner for those expenses anyway. It can create a double recovery, but the negligent dog owner cannot (and should not) benefit from you getting paid by a “collateral source” such as insurance. For more, click here.
No Insurance to Pay Medical Bills?
What if you have no insurance? We can negotiate with your health care providers to get them to reduce the bills, or at the very least, try to stop those bills from going into collection against you while your case is pending. The goals is to keep your credit report clean and free from claims by hospitals and doctors for repayment.
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