Georgia Medical Liens
This article will discuss the implications of a Georgia medical lien when there is no health insurance to pay the bill. Once properly filed, these liens are almost bulletproof and they are a real impediment to obtaining fair and just compensation for Georgia clients with serious injuries. 
The law creating the lien can be found at O.C.G.A. §§ 44-14-470-476. Basically any practice that has an actual Medical Doctor (MD) in the practice can place a lien upon any claim for injuries that the injured person has stemming from the accident.
It is not a lien on the person, it is a lien on the claim itself. It is important to note that this statute does not cover chiropractors. These liens are brutal though as I will explain below and the best defense is going on offense in the case early on.The really crummy thing about the statute is that the legislature and the Court of Appeals have basically said, there are no time limits on when these liens can be filed.
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-471(a)(1) the medical provider must provide written notice of the lien “not less than 30 days prior to the date of filing the statement required under paragraph (2) of this subsection . . . .” O.C.G.A. § 44-14-471(a)(1) (2004). The lien must be filed “no sooner than 30 days after the date of the written notice provided for in this Code section . . .” O.C.G.A. §44-14-471(a)(2). Because this wording is so ambiguous, for the time being you must assume that the lien can be taken anytime in the two years after the injury.
These medial liens become a real problem because, unlike Georgia Workers Compensation liens or some health insurance reimbursement claims, Georgia medical liens are not not blocked by the “complete compensation” rule. Holland v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 244 Ga.App. 583 (2000). Furthermore the Doctors holding the lien are not even required to pay a pro-rata share of injured person's attorneys fees spent in getting the settlement or verdict. See Watts v. Promina Health Sys., Inc., 242 Ga. App. 377 (2000). One nuance to the law though is that for Georgia wrongful death cases, the lien does not attach to the portion of the wrongful death claim for the value of the life lost. Nash v. Allstate Ins. Co., 256 Ga. App. 143 (2002). In other words, to get around the medical lien, your Georgia wrongful death lawyer should only file the portion of the wrongful death case seeking the value of the life and leave the Estate's claim alone.
It is important to know that the Georgia medical provider cannot sue the injured person directly, unless they take a settlement and ignore the lien in which case the medical provider can sue to go after the proceeds of the settlement itself. Hospital Auth. of Augusta v. Boyd, 96 Ga. App. 705 (1957).The situation usually arises where the hospital has filed the lien and sent notice to the at fault driver's insurance company, in effect ensuring that they get paid. Once that lien is filed, it is almost impossible to get the insurance carrier to settle without putting the hospital on the check or without a written release of the claim. In other words, once a sizeable lien is in place, it is very difficult to settle your own case without an attorney. I have found that the best practice is to approach the physicians early before you have settled or tried your case and strike a deal as a virtual collection agent, because there is a mutual interest in the financial recovery. Your leverage is the threat to just walk away and not pursue the claim.
I have a client that called with a $60,000.00 emergency room bill and only $25,000.00 in Georgia insurance coverage on the at fault driver and she has Medicaid. I told the hospital that they should bill Medicaid because if they just stand by and insist on being paid out of the case the client has no interest in filing the claim. This is classic "in the box" thinking by the hospital and it just leads to unpaid bills for all involved eventually.
The law creating the lien can be found at O.C.G.A. §§ 44-14-470-476. Basically any practice that has an actual Medical Doctor (MD) in the practice can place a lien upon any claim for injuries that the injured person has stemming from the accident. It is not a lien on the person, it is a lien on the claim itself. It is important to note that this statute does not cover chiropractors. These liens are brutal though as I will explain below and the best defense is going on offense in the case early on.The really crummy thing about the statute is that the legislature and the Court of Appeals have basically said, there are no time limits on when these liens can be filed.
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-471(a)(1) the medical provider must provide written notice of the lien “not less than 30 days prior to the date of filing the statement required under paragraph (2) of this subsection . . . .” O.C.G.A. § 44-14-471(a)(1) (2004). The lien must be filed “no sooner than 30 days after the date of the written notice provided for in this Code section . . .” O.C.G.A. §44-14-471(a)(2). Because this wording is so ambiguous, for the time being you must assume that the lien can be taken anytime in the two years after the injury.
These medial liens become a real problem because, unlike Georgia Workers Compensation liens or some health insurance reimbursement claims, Georgia medical liens are not not blocked by the “complete compensation” rule. Holland v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 244 Ga.App. 583 (2000). Furthermore the Doctors holding the lien are not even required to pay a pro-rata share of injured person's attorneys fees spent in getting the settlement or verdict. See Watts v. Promina Health Sys., Inc., 242 Ga. App. 377 (2000). One nuance to the law though is that for Georgia wrongful death cases, the lien does not attach to the portion of the wrongful death claim for the value of the life lost. Nash v. Allstate Ins. Co., 256 Ga. App. 143 (2002). In other words, to get around the medical lien, your Georgia wrongful death lawyer should only file the portion of the wrongful death case seeking the value of the life and leave the Estate's claim alone.
It is important to know that the Georgia medical provider cannot sue the injured person directly, unless they take a settlement and ignore the lien in which case the medical provider can sue to go after the proceeds of the settlement itself. Hospital Auth. of Augusta v. Boyd, 96 Ga. App. 705 (1957).The situation usually arises where the hospital has filed the lien and sent notice to the at fault driver's insurance company, in effect ensuring that they get paid. Once that lien is filed, it is almost impossible to get the insurance carrier to settle without putting the hospital on the check or without a written release of the claim. In other words, once a sizeable lien is in place, it is very difficult to settle your own case without an attorney. I have found that the best practice is to approach the physicians early before you have settled or tried your case and strike a deal as a virtual collection agent, because there is a mutual interest in the financial recovery. Your leverage is the threat to just walk away and not pursue the claim.
I have a client that called with a $60,000.00 emergency room bill and only $25,000.00 in Georgia insurance coverage on the at fault driver and she has Medicaid. I told the hospital that they should bill Medicaid because if they just stand by and insist on being paid out of the case the client has no interest in filing the claim. This is classic "in the box" thinking by the hospital and it just leads to unpaid bills for all involved eventually.