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A lien on a Texas personal injury case is a legal right to all or part of any judgment or settlement you might receive as a result of winning a personal injury claim. Typically, a lien runs in favor of your healthcare provider, who may have provided you with expensive medical care at a time when you couldn’t afford to pay for it. Your lien comes due as soon as your personal injury compensation arrives.
Who Can Place a Lien on Your Proceeds?
Your healthcare provider can place a medical lien on your personal injury proceeds. In addition to your healthcare provider, the following creditors might seek to place a lien on your personal injury proceeds:
- Your health insurance company, if they have already paid for at least some of your medical treatment.
- Medicare and Medicaid, if they paid you benefits for medical treatment related to your injury.
- Child support agencies, if you have unpaid child support.
- Your workers’ compensation insurer, if they have already paid you.
Your personal injury proceeds might be subject to more than one lien at the same time. In that situation, you might need to deal with each specific lien separately.
Specific Liens vs. General Liens
A medical lien against a personal injury judgment or settlement is a specific lien, meaning your creditor can only enforce it against your personal injury claim proceeds.
Unlike a general lien, they cannot come against any of your assets, such as your house, your car, or your bank account. They would need to undergo separate legal procedures to satisfy their debt that way.
Procedure for Filing and Perfecting a Lien
Personal injury liens do not attach automatically in Texas. You have to file for a lien to make it enforceable. Here is how you do it.
- Healthcare providers must file a written lien notification with the county clerk in the county where the services were provided.
- Other liens (e.g., child support, Medicaid) are subject to varied filing requirements. Generally, the party seeking the lien must notify you. They might also have to file a notification with a governmental agency or court.
- To perfect a healthcare lien (and thereby ensure its enforceability), the party seeking the lien must file a document that includes your name and address, the date of the accident, and their own name and address.
- To perfect other types of liens, the party seeking the lien must provide detailed information about the services they provided, the charges, and the basis for the lien.
In some states, medical liens attach automatically with no filing requirement.
Deducting the Amount of the Lien From Your Compensation
Your personal injury judgment or settlement proceeds will probably go to your lawyer’s client escrow account first. Your lawyer will deduct their own legal fees, any case expenses that they might have fronted you, and the amount of any medical lien that might apply to your claim.
Dispute Resolution
There may be a dispute between you and your healthcare provider over the amount of your lien. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to seek resolution through various means:
- Negotiation: Let your lawyer negotiate the amount of your lien for you. They have just as much interest as you do in minimizing the amount.
- Mediation: In mediation, you recruit a third party who will suggest creative compromise solutions to you. A mediator cannot compel you to accept their solution.
- Arbitration: An arbitrator is a “rent-a-judge” who decides your case one way or the other. They typically side with one party or the other, and it is difficult or impossible to appeal the judgment.
Under certain circumstances, a court might intervene in your dispute.
Consult Our Undefeated Houston Personal Injury Attorneys from Zehl & Associates if You Run Into Any Complications
A medical lien on a personal injury settlement can work in your favor if you can’t afford to pay your medical expenses after an accident. An experienced Houston personal injury attorney can help you file your claim, negotiate a lien on your behalf, and make sure that whoever holds the lien treats you fairly.
For more information, please contact our Undefeated Personal Injury attorneys in Texas at Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.
We proudly serve Harris County, Midland County, and throughout the state of Texas:
Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Houston
2700 Post Oak Blvd #1000, Houston, TX 77056
(888) 603-3636
Open 24 hours
Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Midland
306 W Wall St Suite 701, Midland, TX 79701
(432) 220-0000
Open 24 hours