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I just settled my personal injury case and my lawyer told me that I have to re-pay my health insurance company the amount they paid for my medical bills from the accident.  That doesn’t seem fair.  Is my lawyer right?

Your lawyer is probably right.  Most health insurance policies have what are known as subrogation  or reimbursement clauses.  These clauses mean that if you get hurt and collect medical bills paid by your insurance company from the person who hurt you your insurance company gets paid back. 

If your insurance through a government-sponsored program like Tenncare or Medicare you also have a responsibility to re-pay the government out of any settlement you receive.

I got hurt in an accident and my doctor said I should go to physical therapy.  The therapist is 20 miles away and it is very inconvenient to go to therapy.   Plus, it doesn’t seem to do any good.  Will it hurt my case if I just stop going?

First, let me suggest you set the thoughts about your legal case aside for a moment.  Your doctor prescribed physical therapy because he or she thought it would help you.  It might not.  But it might.  And the progress you see might be small.  But you still need to go to physical therapy because you want to do what you can to reach a full recovery. 

Going to physical therapy may not help your case, but not going as the doctor asked you to do could hurt your case.  Insurance adjusters and jurors may conclude that you may not have been having the problems you say you were having (or are having)  if you failed to follow your doctor’s advice.  If you have to go before a jury in your case the jury will be told that it is your responsibility to minimize your damages. 

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