If you’re involved in a serious car accident and need major medical treatment in the northern Nevada area, odds are you will be transported to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Renown is the only Level II trauma center between Sacramento and Salt Lake City, so it plays a vital role in the health and well-being of millions of people across this area. If you are transported for care by REMSA, this is most likely where you will be taken.
While it’s important to seek treatment, it’s important to know how your treatment will be financially covered. There are two facts that everyone should know about this hospital: Renown charges more for trauma cases than an average hospital, and they may not take your health insurance. From our experience, a trauma case brought to Renown can often exceed $10,000 in bills and expenses, a significant financial burden that many insurance companies don’t want to undertake. In response, Renown requires all companies they work with to be contracted with them. If your company is not contracted with Renown, Renown won’t accept your insurance. The same also applies if you are on Medicare or Medicaid.
If you have private health insurance that is not contracted with Renown and need emergency treatment, Renown will still treat you. However, Renown opts to claim a lien pursuant to NRS 108.590. This statute states “Whenever any person receives hospitalization on account of any injury, and the injured person, or a personal representative after the person’s death, claims damages from the person responsible for causing the injury, the hospital has a lien upon any sum awarded the injured person or the personal representative by judgment or obtained by a settlement or compromise to the extent of the amount due the hospital for the reasonable value of the hospitalization rendered before the date of judgment, settlement or compromise."
Liens & Your Injury Claim
When you are injured and treated at Renown but Renown doesn’t accept your insurance, they require you to pay the hospital before the full disbursement of your case proceeds. Renown knows that insurance companies are far more prone to settling for less than Renown frequently seeks. When they place liens on injury claims, Renown frequently receives far higher settlements.
If you have been involved in a car accident, it’s important that you make sure you receive the compensation you deserve, particularly when also dealing with a hospital lien like the ones Renown has been known to place. At the Law Offices of Steven J. Klearman & Associates, no case is too small or too complex for us to handle. We believe that everyone who has been injured in a car accident deserves justice, but we also understand that justice must sometimes be fought for. We offer all our clients more than 28 years of experience and extensive, detailed knowledge of personal injury law to give you the best possible chance of an optimal result to your case.
Call the Law Offices of Steven J. Klearman & Associates today at (775) 573-0229 to request a free case evaluation!