Hamilton Padgett Rinaldi, LLP
Thomas F. Rinaldi, Esq.
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New Jersey guide

The bills.

What the paper in your hand actually is, and what to do with it.

Most of it is not yours to pay.

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A bill arriving
does not mean
you owe it.

After a crash, bills and statements arrive from everywhere. Most of them are either not yours to pay, not yet payable, or the result of something not being billed correctly.

Do not ignore them and do not panic and pay them. There is a middle step, and it is usually a phone call.

Work out what you are holding

Four kinds
of paper.

An explanation of benefits Says EOB somewhere, usually says this is not a bill. It is a summary of what the insurer did with a claim. Keep it, do not pay it.
A provider statement From the doctor or hospital, showing a balance. Often arrives before PIP has processed anything. Usually a timing problem, not a debt.
A denial PIP or health insurance refused to pay. This one needs attention, but a denial can be appealed and often should be.
A collection notice From a collection agency rather than the provider. This one is urgent because it can reach your credit. Call immediately.
The most common cause

It was never
billed to PIP.

Over and over, the reason someone gets a bill is that the provider billed their health insurance, or billed them directly, and never billed the auto PIP carrier at all.

Call the provider's billing department and ask one question: have you billed this to my auto PIP carrier, and here is the claim number.

That one call resolves more balances than anything else in this guide.

What to have ready Your PIP claim number, the carrier name, the date of the crash, and the date of the service in question. Write down who you spoke to and when.
If it is a real denial

Denials get
overturned.

PIP carriers deny treatment and bills routinely. Some denials are correct. Many are not.

Most people read a denial and give up. That is what the letter is designed to make you do.

If collections calls

What to say.

Say this: "This is related to a motor vehicle accident. It should be billed to my auto PIP carrier. The claim number is [number]. Please place this on hold and send me written validation of the debt."

Then follow it up in writing. A phone call alone leaves no record.

You have rights here Federal law gives you the right to ask a collector in writing to validate the debt, and they generally must stop collection activity until they do. You also have the right to tell them to stop contacting you. A collector who ignores that may be violating the law.
Do not do this

Three things
that make it
worse.

Do not put medical bills on a credit card

The moment you do, it stops being a medical bill and becomes your personal debt. If it should have been paid by PIP, you have just taken on something that was not yours.

Do not sign anything from a provider without reading it

Some provider forms assign rights or create personal liability for balances. Ask for a copy of anything you sign.

Do not stop treating because of a bill

This is the one that costs the most. The bill is usually solvable. The gap in treatment is not.

At the end of the case

What the bills
actually are.

If you have a claim and it resolves, outstanding medical bills, liens and reimbursement claims are addressed out of the recovery before you receive your money. You get a written statement showing every dollar.

A good lawyer negotiates those balances down. That is part of the job and it should not be a separate charge.

Even if I am not your lawyer If you are holding bills from a crash and you do not know what to do with them, call me. If there is no case, or it is not a case I can take, I will still tell you what the paper in your hand actually is and what to do about it. That call costs nothing.
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