You can still get treatment—even if you don’t have health insurance.
After a crash, many people worry: “How do I get care without health insurance after a crash?”
In Colorado, there are several paths to care while your injury claim is pending: MedPay benefits on your auto policy, medical liens (including hospital liens and health-care provider liens), and letters of protection (LOPs). Each option has rules, paperwork, and tradeoffs.
Our personal injury attorney routinely explains how they work, how to avoid common mistakes, and how we protect your net recovery when it’s time to settle.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and details matter—especially with liens. Talk with a lawyer about your specific situation.
Option 1: Use your auto policy’s MedPay (even if you’re not at fault)
Colorado auto insurers must offer you at least $5,000 in Medical Payments (“MedPay”) coverage. If you have it, MedPay pays accident-related medical bills regardless of fault and is often the fastest way to start treatment. Insurers must reserve the first $5,000 for trauma care (EMS/ER/trauma physician/center).
Why we like MedPay:
No deductibles or co-pays, and no need to establish fault first.
Pays quickly, helping you get imaging, PT, or follow-ups started.
It’s not subrogated like health insurance (in many cases you don’t have to pay it back), though coordination with other benefits and statutes still matters.
Watch-outs: Tell your providers to bill MedPay first (up to your limit). We’ll confirm your MedPay status and push your carrier to apply it correctly.
Option 2: Hospital liens (when the ER bills you after a crash)
Colorado’s hospital lien statute lets hospitals assert a lien against the net amount payable from your injury settlement/judgment for reasonable and necessary hospital charges. Hospitals must strictly follow statutory requirements (perfection/notice) to enforce these liens. The statute also says the attorney’s lien is senior to a hospital lien, and a patient subjected to an invalid lien can sue for twice the amount the hospital tried to assert.
What this means for you
A hospital can seek payment from your future settlement rather than sending everything to collections immediately—but it must comply with the statute.
If it doesn’t, we can challenge the lien, and the statute provides teeth (including double damages for a lien asserted in violation of the law).
Priority matters: Statute confirms attorney liens have precedence over hospital liens. That ordering often helps us negotiate hospital balances at resolution.
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Option 3: Health-care provider liens (non-hospital clinics, imaging, PT, specialists)
Colorado created a separate framework for health-care provider liens (think orthopedists, PT clinics, imaging centers) with detailed disclosure requirements to patients. Providers can even assign these liens to financing companies (a common practice), but those assignees take the lien subject to all statutory restrictions and obligations.
Key points:
Providers must give specific disclosures to the injured person to create/enforce the lien properly.
Assignments to lien companies are allowed, but the assignee has no more rights than the provider had.
2021 updates clarified lien practices and evidentiary issues around these arrangements.
Translation: If you’re uninsured, many clinics will treat you on a lien basis—they agree to wait for payment from your settlement. We make sure the paperwork complies with the statute and that charges are reasonable.
Letters of Protection (LOPs): care now, pay from settlement later
A letter of protection is a written promise—typically from your attorney to a provider—that the bill will be paid from your settlement. It isn’t exactly the same as a statutory lien, but it functions similarly by delaying collection and ensuring the provider gets paid from case proceeds. (Some practices prefer LOPs over filing formal statutory liens.)
Pros
Cons
You remain personally responsible if the case doesn’t resolve as expected.
Some defense attorneys try to attack LOP charges as “inflated”; we counter with reasonableness evidence and provider testimony.
The collateral source rule (why the defense can’t use your benefits to discount your case)
Colorado’s collateral source rule generally prevents defendants from reducing what they owe by pointing to payments/benefits you get from other sources (like health insurance). There are statutory nuances and court decisions that refine how this works in practice, but the core rule remains important in valuing medical damages.
Why it matters: Even if a portion of your bills is handled by MedPay or a lien is later negotiated down, that doesn’t automatically reduce what the at-fault party owes under Colorado law. (Application is fact- and case-specific.)
Which option should I use first?
Start with MedPay (if you have it). It’s quick and clean. Then, if you’re uninsured (or your benefits are limited), we line up lien/LOP providers in the right specialties (orthopedics, neuro, imaging, PT, pain management) and ensure statutory compliance so you can keep treating.
If you do have health insurance: We still may use it; later we’ll address subrogation/reimbursement claims. Sometimes it’s smarter to use health insurance first; other times, a lien path yields better access or net results. Strategy depends on your injuries, providers, and coverage.
What to Do After an Accidnet
Call 911 and request police/EMS.
Get medical care—tell providers every area of pain (adrenaline masks injuries).
Collect information: driver’s license/insurance, vehicle plate, witness names.
Photograph the scene, your injuries, torn/damaged clothing, and traffic controls.
Preserve evidence: don’t wash damaged clothing; save shoes and devices.
Avoid recorded statements to insurers until you’ve spoken to a lawyer.
Contact a pedestrian accident attorney to secure evidence and coverage early.
How we protect your net recovery (not just the “headline” number)
Verify and perfect benefits
We confirm MedPay, coordinate property damage, and open the right claims in the right order.
Paperwork done right
We review every lien/LOP for statutory compliance and required disclosures (especially under the health-care provider lien statute). Defective liens can be challenged.
Reasonableness & proof
We collect medical records, billing, and reasonableness evidence (coding, usual/customary comparisons) to defeat “inflated charges” defenses.
Negotiation leverage
At settlement, we negotiate reductions with hospitals, lien companies, and health plans. Attorney liens are senior to hospital liens, which can improve outcomes, and invalid hospital liens expose the hospital to double-damage risk.
Assignments & lien buyers
If a provider sold/assigned a lien, the assignee inherits the same limits and disclosure duties—no leverage advantage over you.
Practical timeline for uninsured clients
Week 0–1
ER/EMS uses the first chunk of MedPay if available (insurers must reserve $5,000 for trauma). We notify your carrier.
We set up lien/LOP providers (imaging, ortho, PT) so care continues without gaps.
Weeks 2–8
You’re treating; bills route to MedPay, then lien/LOP.
We collect records and build liability proof (video, EDR, witnesses).
Months 2–6+
As you approach maximum medical improvement, we quantify future care.
We send a settlement demand with full medical and damages documentation.
On resolution, we negotiate lien reductions and finalize your net disbursement
Why Choose The Lawrence Law Firm
Focused advocacy for pedestrians across the Denver Metro
Local experience with Colorado traffic law and area insurers
Relentless evidence gathering (video, EDR, telematics, experts)
Clear communication and personalized strategy
No fee unless we win
Common questions
What if the hospital files a lien that looks wrong?
Colorado’s statute is strict. If the hospital violates the law, a patient can sue for two times the amount of the lien attempted—a strong negotiation tool. We review and, when appropriate, challenge defective liens.
A clinic says they’ll treat me only if I sign a lien or LOP. Is that normal?
Yes. Many providers require either a statutory lien (with disclosures) or an LOP. We make sure the paperwork complies with the health-care provider lien statute and that charges are reasonable.
The provider sold my lien to a finance company—am I stuck?
The law lets providers assign liens, but the assignee stands in the provider’s shoes—no extra rights beyond the statute. We negotiate with assignees too.
Will using MedPay hurt my injury case?
No. MedPay is a benefit you paid for. Statute even dictates how the first $5,000 is reserved for trauma care. It typically helps you get timely treatment and documentation.
Can the defense tell the jury I used insurance or a lien?
Colorado’s collateral source rule generally limits the defense from using collateral payments to reduce damages, though statutes/cases add nuance. We’ll advise based on current law and your facts.
Are attorney fees taken before or after liens?
By statute, attorney liens have priority over hospital liens; provider liens and contractual rights are addressed by agreement and law. We structure disbursements to honor priorities and protect your net.
Common Personal Injury Cases We Handle
Even if you don’t have health insurance after a crash, our firm can help you get medical care through medical liens, Letters of Protection (LOPs), or MedPay coverage. We represent clients in a wide range of serious injury cases, including:
No matter the type of injury, our attorneys work to ensure that lack of insurance does not prevent you from receiving treatment and pursuing the compensation you deserve.
How we work with uninsured clients
Access to care: We maintain a network of lien/LOP providers (orthopedics, neuro, imaging, PT, pain) who follow Colorado’s lien laws and disclosure rules.
Compliance & transparency: We insist on compliant paperwork and itemized billing—critical for later negotiations.
End-of-case reductions: We bring statutes (like the double-damage remedy for invalid hospital liens) and priority rules to the table when negotiating, along with reasonableness analyses.
Net recovery focus: Your take-home number matters most. We align strategy—benefit sequencing, lien reduction, and timing—to maximize it.
