Legal Question in Personal Injury in Tennessee

The type of payment you describe is not the same thing as insurance coverage for the payee. But if it enables you to pay the doctor of your choice, then she will likely be happy to treat you. When a patient can afford to pay for treatment, doctors often won't care if he has insurance.

The injured person could -- and probably should -- have sought treatment before he received the settlement. Many emergency rooms will treat seriously injured patients who cannot pay. Many doctors and hospitals will treat less seriously injured patients in exchange for a lien on any recovery they later receive from the person who injured them.