Will Medicare Get a Portion of My Nursing Home Abuse Settlement?

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Before you pursue any kind of lawsuit—including a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit—you should have an idea of the damages you may recover. This will help you determine whether the potential benefits of pursuing legal action are worth the time and effort. When you think about your financial recovery, it is important to consider how much of the recovery will actually come to you.

Medicare May Get a Portion of Your Nursing Home Settlement

Immediately after your injury, and possibly in the weeks and months to follow, you needed medical care. Your doctors’ visits, hospitalizations, surgeries, and other medical costs may have been billed to Medicare.

Pursuant to federal law, Medicare (and Medicaid, if applicable) has a lien on your injury-related legal recovery for the services that were provided and paid for through Medicare (or Medicaid). That means that Medicare and Medicaid will be reimbursed for any medical expenses paid on your behalf due to your injuries.

Nursing homes and insurance companies may try to distort this fact and make you believe that your entire recovery will be turned over to Medicare or Medicaid. However, this is simply not true. Like any other lien against your recovery, the federal agency seeking reimbursement will need to prove the value of its lien and will only be able to recover those damages. Any other compensation you recover for other damages such as out-of-pocket costs, physical pain, or emotional suffering, will not be turned over to Medicare or Medicaid.

Know the Truth About Your Nursing Home Abuse Recovery

Medicare may not be the only party to be paid out of your nursing home abuse financial recovery. Your lawyer, for example, may be paid a previously agreed upon percentage of your recovery instead of an hourly fee.

Yet, much of the money you recover in your nursing home abuse case will still go to you when your case settles or is decided in court. On top of the monetary settlement, there will be other less tangible benefits of pursuing a nursing home abuse case such as holding the nursing home accountable for its actions and discouraging future incidents of abuse.

For these reasons, it is important to consider all of your options and to talk to an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer. Call us today to schedule an initial consultation. Our first meeting will be free—you will not pay us up front nor will you pay us out of your eventual recovery—and it will provide you with an opportunity to make an informed decision about whether or not you want to pursue a nursing home abuse claim.

Has Your Loved One Been Injured in a Nursing Home?

If you believe your loved one is being subjected to nursing home abuse you need to speak with an experienced Louisville nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our office directly at 888.450.4456 to schedule a free consultation.