What is a Subrogation Claim and How Will it Affect My Settlement?

Steve Harrelson is a car accident lawyer Little Rock, AR trusts. “Subrogation claims,” says Harrelson, “are part of settling your claim and deciding who will get paid what amount.” So what is a subrogation claim? Subrogation generally occurs when one insurance company pays for damages or injuries, and they, in turn, make their own claim for payment against the person who caused the damages, or who contributed to them.

In other words, let’s say you were involved in a car accident.  (1) Your insurance company then pays for the damage to your vehicle, even though the other driver was clearly at fault.  (2) Your own health insurance carrier initially pays the ER bill and the ambulance bill.  In that instance, both your auto insurer and your health insurer are likely to seek a subrogation claim to be reimbursed for their payments.

As a practical matter, those insurance companies of yours will send your car accident lawyer Little Rock, AR a letter asserting their claim for subrogation in the form of a lien in the event a settlement is reached.  In that event, your lawyer will protect your rights by attempting to reduce the amount of any subrogation claim for assisting those companies to be reimbursed simply by acting as your advocate.

Because your insurance companies did pay part of your bills, it is only fair for them to be reimbursed by the responsible party.  If you can have those subrogation claims reduced simply by having your lawyer do their work for them to be reimbursed rather than them having to pay their own lawyers to assert their subrogation claims, then that will translate into a higher amount of money that will hopefully go into your pocket after settlement is reached.  In many areas of the country, it is customary for an insurance company to reduce their subrogation claim by one-third or more, depending upon several factors.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and these generalities can differ from state to state, depending on local statutes and whether you get into a car accident in a state that has “no fault” insurance or not.  It is crucial that you have representation to assert your rights in this instance.

For these reasons, it is always best to contact a lawyer to help you through a situation like this to (1) help you through the process while you’re recovering and (2) to maximize your benefits to ensure all of your injuries are appropriately compensated.  Steve Harrelson, a Little Rock car accident lawyer Little Rock, AR trusts, stands ready to help.