Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts
I am a Chiropractor in MA, and have a new patient who's Attorney is notorious for not paying Chiro bills, and giving the Chiro's $$ to the client. A colleague told me: "This is how he can say he gets his clients more money than the other lawyers. It's uncanny how they know the intricacies of the law at the point where my bill comes into play. Being on "welfare" makes collecting from them impossible." It leaves me wondering how I can protect my money from being given away? I want to help my patient, but, I don't want to sue my patient in the end. What bothers me most is that I'm providing necessary care, and basically making the bills and the case for the Atty and Pt, and risk getting screwed at the end by them both. I'm never opposed to settlement. My question is; is there a contract or lien that we can sign that will protect my interest? Is there a duty to not leave the client with unpaid bills, or some Bar regulation that is supposed to prevent it?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately, folks in your situation get stuck with unpaid bills quite a bit. This is not an area of law that I deal with on a regular basis, but there may be some help for you found in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111, Sections 70A through 70D. This statute provides for a lien on motor vehicle accident proceeds in favor of "hospitals" and "clinic" that provide services in connection with the injuries. Specifically, Section 70B lays out the procedure for claiming the lien and 70C provides the obligation to the person disbursing the proceeds from the case to first pay the liens. What I am not sure of, and a personal injury attorney could likely tell you with more confidence, is whether a chiropractor falls within the scope of a "clinic" for the purposes of obtaining such a lien. I just do not know.
Best of luck.
Ryan D. Sullivan
Bodoff & Associates, P.C.
120 Water Street
Boston, MA 02109
617-742-7300 ext. 207
Hire competent counsel and have him develop some forms for you to use at intake assigning their right to PIP medical payments to you. There are some other forms which chiropractors who care to be paid use as well. Unlock the wallet, Doctor. Best luck JBS
If you'd like to talk through setting up forms to help better secure payment and/or initiate any available liens, contact me for a free initial office consult.
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