Getting treated after a Massachusetts accident

Who pays the medical bills in Massachusetts

Which insurance pays first depends on how you were hurt and whether you carry health insurance. The rules below come from the statutes named in each row.

More detail: how Massachusetts PIP works, workers comp and medical bills, and medical liens on a settlement.

Getting care after a crash or work injury, step by step

1. Call 911 if anyone may be seriously hurt.
2. Get checked. The emergency room, urgent care or your own primary care doctor can examine you and refer you on if you need more care.
3. Tell the provider how you were hurt. For a car crash, give the office your auto insurer and claim number so it can bill PIP. For a work injury, give your employer's name and its workers compensation insurer.
4. Open the PIP claim. Present it as soon as you can, and in every case within two years of the accident (M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34M).
5. Keep every bill and statement, including the explanation of benefits your health plan sends.
6. Expect an insurer exam. The auto insurer can require you to see doctors it selects as often as reasonably required (M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34M).
7. Call the firm with legal questions about the claim, the insurer or a deadline: (617) JIM-WINS.

The kinds of care people look for after an injury

Plain descriptions of each kind of practice in the network. Your own provider decides which, if any, you need.

Emergency room and urgent care

Same-day evaluation after a crash or fall. Urgent care treats injuries that are not life-threatening.

Primary care

Your regular doctor. Often the one who refers you to other kinds of care and keeps your records together.

Physical therapy

Exercise and hands-on treatment to restore movement and strength after an injury.

Chiropractic

Treatment of the spine, neck and joints by a licensed chiropractor.

Orthopedics

Doctors who treat bones, joints, ligaments and tendons, including fractures and torn ligaments.

Neurology and concussion care

Evaluation and care for head injuries, concussion symptoms and nerve problems.

Imaging

X-ray, MRI and CT scans, usually ordered by your treating provider.

Pain management

Doctors who treat ongoing pain after an injury.

Providers in the JimmyKnows Injury Care network

The first Massachusetts practices are being added now. Every listing is a real practice whose license has been confirmed. Until the list fills in, your primary care doctor can refer you, and the firm can answer questions about how your bills get paid: (617) JIM-WINS.

Run a Massachusetts practice that treats injured people? Join the network, free.

What the network checks, and what it never does

Before a practice is listed:

• Its Massachusetts license is confirmed on the state's public license lookup.
• The practice confirms it treats people hurt in crashes, falls or at work, and states which payment it takes (PIP, health insurance, workers compensation).
• Jim Glaser reviews the listing before it appears.

What never happens:

• No fee, referral payment or anything of value passes between the firm and any provider, in either direction. Massachusetts law makes paying or taking anything of value for recommending care that a health insurer pays for a crime (M.G.L. c. 175H, sec. 3), and the bar rules bar a lawyer from giving anything of value for a recommendation (Mass. R. Prof. C. 7.2(b)).
• A listing never depends on a practice sending anyone to the firm, and practices agree not to solicit patients for the firm.
• The firm does not pay, advance or promise to pay medical bills.
• Providers are independent. They make their own medical decisions and set their own billing terms.

Key terms

PIP

Personal injury protection, the no-fault coverage on a Massachusetts auto policy (M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A).

Explanation of benefits

The statement your health plan sends showing what a provider billed and what the plan paid.

Insurer exam

An examination by a doctor the insurance company selects, which M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34M lets the auto insurer require.

Medical lien

A claim by a provider or insurer to be repaid out of an injury settlement. The terms are between you and the provider.

Workers compensation

The insurance Massachusetts employers are required to carry that pays for care and lost wages after a work injury (M.G.L. c. 152).

Questions people ask

• What kind of doctor should I see after a car accident in Massachusetts?

  If anyone may be badly hurt, call 911. Otherwise most people start with the emergency room or urgent care the same day, or with their own primary care doctor, who can examine them and refer them to physical therapy, chiropractic care, orthopedics, imaging or concussion care if they need it. Which care you need is a medical decision for you and your provider, not something a legal website can answer.

• Does PIP pay for a chiropractor or physical therapy in Massachusetts?

  PIP pays reasonable medical expenses from the crash, regardless of fault, up to at least $8,000 per person under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A, and sec. 34M refers to bills from practitioners licensed under chapter 112 of the General Laws, the chapter that licenses chiropractors and physical therapists. If you also have health insurance, PIP pays only the first $2,000 of the medical expenses your plan covers and your plan pays the rest.

• Do I have to use a provider in the JimmyKnows Injury Care network?

  No. You may see any licensed provider you choose, in the network or not. Using a listed provider is not required to call the firm, does not change anything about a claim, and the firm does not pay or promise to pay anyone's medical bills.

• Who pays my medical bills if I was hurt at work?

  Your employer's workers compensation insurer pays for adequate and reasonable health care for the injury under M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 30, for as long as the care is necessary. The same section lets you choose a treating health care professional other than one the insurer provides, and switch to another one once.

• How long do I have to file a PIP claim?

  M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34M says a PIP claim should be presented as soon as practicable after the accident and in every case within two years of the accident date. The same section requires you to attend physical examinations by doctors the insurer selects as often as reasonably required.

• Does Jim Glaser Law get paid by the providers in the network?

  No. No fee, referral payment or anything of value passes between the firm and any provider, in either direction. A practice is listed for free, and its listing does not depend on it sending anyone to the firm.

Legal questions about the claim?

The intake line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free.