When a car accident leaves you injured, you naturally are concerned with seeking medical treatment as soon as possible. The cost, location, transportation, and other details are seldom considered until the bills arrive. Unfortunately, medical care can be astronomically expensive, and you might need to take steps if your needs are not being met. Read on to learn more about ensuring that you receive adequate coverage of your medical expenses.

Where to be Treated?

When it's an emergency, no one should be able to dictate where you go to seek care. The nearest medical facility that is equipped to handle injuries at your level should be used. In some cases, that might mean air transportation (life flight via a helicopter) to an appropriate trauma center. Only certain hospitals have trauma centers that address severe, life-threatening injuries. Trauma centers are assigned levels with a level 1 being the highest level of care and 3 and 4 being the lowest levels. It is the emergency medical personnel that respond to your accident that assigns the appropriate level needed to care for your particular injuries.

While the need for this type of care is undisputed, that does not mean that you are assured coverage for the care you need. Life-flight transportation can be incredibly expensive and so can care from a top-level trauma center. When the insurance carrier for the at-fault driver refuses to pay the bill, how prepared are most victims to pay the costs?

Catastrophic and Severe Injuries

Non only is transportation and care at top-level facilities a huge financial issue for some accident victims, the after-effects of catastrophic injuries are by no means assured. For many, weeks and months of hospitalization and surgeries are just the beginning. Ongoing medical needs present a tricky area of compensation with many insurance policies having little to no provisions addressing that need. There are several injury situations that might call for more care on an on-going basis:

1. You need several months of physical therapy to help you deal with past injuries.

2. Your doctor predicts that you must undergo future surgeries to address additional issues, but you must wait several months before proceeding.

3. You are permanently disabled and need ongoing care and medical attention.

Speak to an Attorney

If you or a loved one has injuries that fall into the severe and catastrophic category, you may need to take legal action and force the insurance company to cover your needs. Speak to a car accident lawyer before you sign an insurance settlement that falls short of your needs.