The immediate aftermath of an accident can be overwhelming. If you suffered serious injuries in a Virginia car crash, motorcycle collision, or boating accident, you might not have the opportunity or means to make informed decisions about your own medical care. Often, accident victims find themselves with no choice but to defer to the expertise of first responders, who might summon an ambulance or request a helicopter evacuation. While these urgent interventions could mean the difference between life and death, they are not always covered by health insurance—leaving accident victims grateful to be alive but unable to pay for their recovery. Paying for emergency medical transport

Emergency Medical Transportation Costs After a Serious VA Accident

Accident victims who are severely injured rarely have a choice in deciding which treatment to accept and which to decline. If first responders believe that your life is on the line, they may order an ambulance or airlift evacuation:

  • An ambulance evacuation. Ambulance rides can be very expensive, and accident victims rarely have the time and opportunity to weigh the benefits of getting to the hospital quickly versus its eventual financial costs. In a best-case scenario, an ambulance ride could be covered by your automobile insurance or health care policy. However, if your provider does not have an agreement with the ambulance company—or believes the ride was medically unnecessary—you could be asked to pay out of-pocket. While the cost of an ambulance ride could depend on many factors, they usually range from between $1,000 and $15,000.
  • A medical airlift. First responders will sometimes order or recommend a helicopter evacuation if they believe that injuries are life-threatening or likely to culminate in disability if the accident victim does not receive urgent care. Although helicopter ambulances can drastically reduce travel times between an accident site and the hospital, the average cost is between $20,000 and $30,000.

Insurance Companies Don’t Consider Every Accident Injury Urgent

Insurance companies will typically only cover the full cost of an ambulance bill if they believe that the service was “medically necessary.” Since automobile and health insurance providers are for-profit enterprises, they usually have flexible definitions of what constitutes a “medical emergency.” Typically, insurance will only permit coverage if an accident victim sustains injuries that require immediate attention.

Emergency Injuries

  • Broken bones
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Severe burns
  • Internal bleeding
  • Traumatic brain injuries

Your Options for Paying an Ambulance Bill

A personal injury attorney can help you review your options for compensation after a serious Virginia accident. Depending on the circumstances of your accident and the severity of your injury, you could file different types of claims.

 Claim Options After a Virginia Accident

  • A health insurance claim. Some automobile insurance companies require that any medical bills be first forwarded to the victim’s primary health care provider. If the primary provider cannot cover the entire cost of treatment, you may be able to submit an adjusted bill to your care insurance carrier.
  • A no-fault insurance claim. Virginia is not a “no-fault” insurance state, which means the at-fault motorist’s insurance carrier is responsible for covering the accident victim’s losses. If you purchased Personal Injury Protection coverage, you may be able to recover some expenses if you were injured by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver.
  • A personal injury lawsuit. If and when insurance is incapable of making an accident victim whole, victims have the legal right to take action against the wrongdoer, holding them—and their insurance company—accountable for any outstanding financial liabilities, including lost income, property damage, and future medical care.

Covering the Costs of an Accident

If your insurance is unwilling to bear or share the costs of emergency medical transportation, you may feel you have no choice but to accept an unwanted and undeserved debt.

However, Virginia law provides accident victims with some opportunity for recourse. If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you could recover financial damages through an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

A Virginia Personal Injury Attorney Can Help Ensure Fair Compensation

  • Past, present, and anticipated medical care
  • Physical rehabilitation
  • Prescription medication co-pays
  • Lost income from work
  • Diminished earning potential
  • Disability
  • Emotional pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment
  • Loss of consortium
  • Disfigurement

Virginia does not currently cap the damages a personal injury plaintiff can receive after an accident. This means you could receive as much money as you need to begin moving forward after an accident. However, you have to act fast. While Virginia does not cap damages, it does have a strict statute of limitations. If you wait too long to submit an insurance claim or file a personal injury lawsuit, the statute of limitations could prevent you from recovering any damages. Once the statute of limitations ends, a court could automatically dismiss your claim, even if you had an otherwise open-and-shut case.

Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank

Kearney, Freeman, Fogarty & Joshi, PPLC believes that nobody should ever have to pay the price for another person’s mistake or negligence. Our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you build a compelling, evidence-based claim for compensation, accounting for the costs of your Virginia ambulance ride as well as any other losses you incurred as a result of the accident.

We work on a contingency fee basis and will never ask you to pay for the costs of representation up front. We only take payment as a percentage of your eventual settlement. If we cannot get you the compensation you deserve, we do not get paid.

Contact Us Today

Please send Kearney, Freeman, Fogarty & Joshi, PLLC a message online, or call us at 703-691-8333 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.