Personal injury claims involve several legal processes, one of which is subrogation. If you have not heard of this term before, it means that insurance providers have the right to seek reimbursement for what has been paid to a claimant from the other party who was at fault for the accident and their insurance carrier. Subrogation allows for costs like medical bills, repair costs, and the cost of personal injury damages to be recovered by your insurer. Your personal injury attorney usually handles these matters for you. 
In essence, this process prevents the injured party from a double recovery of the cost of their losses. Claimants are meant to receive fair compensation for their damages, not profit from the car accident lawsuit. Subrogation prevents accident victims from profiting off of things like medical bills, which should be covered by their health insurance or auto insurance companies. Thus, the financial recovery will go back to the insurance provider.
How Subrogation Claims Work
Insurance carriers will file a subrogation claim against the at-fault party to recover costs. These costs include benefits paid to you by the insurance company, as well as any deductibles you had to pay for medical treatment. This process is largely handled by the insurance company, with little need for involvement on your part.
To the extent that insurance companies have the right to subrogation, the rules state that if an insurance company pays out for medical bills or disability payments, they have the right to collect reimbursement from the at-fault party through the legal process.
This process begins with your insurance company paying out benefits in tandem with your insurance policy, where you may or may not have to pay a deductible. Once they decide to file a subrogation claim, they will notify you of their intent. If you do not receive this notice, it will fall on you to seek compensation for your deductible and other expenses from the at fault party on your own.
To What Extent Will Subrogation Affect Your Personal Injury Case?
Subrogation affects your personal injury case to the extent that it decides the allocation of your settlement. If, in the process of going through the courts, you were to win your personal injury lawsuit, you might have to give a percentage of your award to your insurance carrier. That is if they did not subrogate your claim. Through subrogation, your provider will seek reimbursement directly from the defendant, and your award would not have to account for the bills and other damages covered by your insurer.
Working with an Attorney when a Subrogation Claim is Filed
As we have seen, if a subrogation claim is not filed then you will have to absorb some of the costs associated with your accident claim. If your insurance company does not go through with this process, then an attorney can assist you so that you can receive more of the compensation you deserve from your accident. They may be able to get the insurance company to reduce the subrogation claim, even if you end up owing the carrier money from your deductible.
Attorney Steven A. Harris regularly blogs in the areas of family law, bankruptcy, and real estate closings on this website. He is always available in any of the firm’s offices or by phone anytime for a consultation. Mr. Harris tries to provide informative information to the public in easily digestible formats. Hopefully you enjoyed this article and feel free to supply any feedback. We appreciate our readers and love to hear from you!