Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Insurance Question

It depends on where you get your health insurance and other questions. There has been strides in the law recently preventing health insurers from receiving reimbursement or limiting the amount. Many attorneys do not know about these laws and there are attorneys who specialize in this. I often hire these specialists just to deal with health insurance liens.

JOEL SELIK Attorney at Law

800-894-2889 760-479-1515 702-243-1930

www.SelikLaw.com

Licensed to Practice Law in California and Nevada Only CA Licensed Real Estate Broker

CONCENTRATING IN LITIGATION: REAL ESTATE, ELDER ABUSE, APPEALS, AND COLLECTIONS Personal Injury, Contracts, Tax Matters, Business, Malpractice, Appeals, Elder Neglect/Abuse/Nursing Home Malpractice Real Estate, and Other Legal Matters

This is just general information. No representations are made and no attorney client relationship is established by this communication. In most matters there are strict time limitations within which actions may be taken or your rights will be compromised. We are not taking any action on your matter and will not be considered your attorney or tax representative until both you and we have signed a fee agreement.

We, therefore will take no action on your behalf unless a written retainer agreement is signed. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you do not retain SELIKLAW, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney or other advisor.

If you send a lawyer or law firm email, your email will not create an attorney-client relationship and will not necessarily be treated as privileged or confidential. You should not send sensitive or confidential information via email. The lawyer or law firm to whom you are writing may not choose to accept you as a client. Moreover, as the Internet is not necessarily a secure environment it is possible that your email sent via the Internet might be intercepted and read by third parties.

Re: Insurance Question

Read your insurance policy. It probably says that any money you recover for your medical bills (after recouping your deductible) must be turned over to them up to they amount they paid. Money you recover for pain and suffering, lost income, or other losses the insurance did not cover should be yours to keep, along with any punitive damages.

Be careful, though -- if your attorney is working on a contingent fee she will be entitled to a percentage of the entire award, and you will have to repay the insurer from what's left. You may also have a substantial tax liability for some or all of the amount you collect. Depending upon how much you recover and what it's for, you may end up with a net loss even if you win the case and are able to collect your judgment.