by Candace Nguyen
When an individual gets involved in a ghastly accident, getting him/her the compensation for the required medical treatment can take time since this cost can be astronomical. This may throw the victim into a troubling predicament, especially if he or she lacks the funds to cover those costs up-front or a personal injury protection insurance coverage. In situations like this, a LOP comes in handy, allowing the injured individuals to receive the required medical care.
So, what is a LOP, and how can it be useful in your situation? The answers to this question are just a few lines away.
The word LOP is an acronym for "Letter of Protection" – a term used to describe the document developed by a personal injury lawyer to help accident victims obtain the medical care they cannot afford. The LOP, also known as a medical lien, is a contractual agreement that guarantees reimbursement for the healthcare provider for all the services rendered either by a court judgment, award, lawsuit settlement, or out-of-pocket.
The attorney of the injured party prepares a Letter of Protection, which indicates that the patient is going to pay all the medical expenses incurred when he/she recovers the money for the injuries either by a trial judgment, or case settlement. He then sends the LOP to the healthcare provider to allow the patient to obtain the medical attention they need without worrying about coming out of pocket up-front for their treatment. If the victim recovered no money from the case (when the court case is against the defendant), he/she still owes and is legally responsible for the full payment of the services and treatment expenses incurred.
At times, people use LOPs to postpone the payment of the medical expenses that an accident victim had already incurred or stop caregivers from filing a bill that will hurt the victim's credit or send it to collections. For instance, if the medical provider submitted the bill of an accident victim to the health insurance provider, but they refuse to pay because they felt that the auto insurance policy of the at-fault party should cover the cost, the LOP will allow the victim to postpone the bill payments.
Anyone who is injured or a victim of a car accident can apply for LOP and must choose to submit it. People who refuse to submit it will not be eligible for treatment in many states, irrespective of the fault.
First, your injury lawyer will prepare the medical lien for your case and sign it. Next, you'll sign the LOP, and your attorney will forward it to your healthcare provider. Once the doctor accepts the LOP, you'll be treated with no out of pocket expense to you.
Not all clinics and injury doctors accept a LOP from a personal injury attorney. In most cases, the main reason for the rejection is because the injury clinic does not trust the lawyer that he would honor the lien or letter of protection. That is why you need to find a reliable attorney for your LOP, not the one that would seek out medical providers that they can exploit.
As a personal injury attorney, your injured client needs all the urgent medical attention they can get. However, a healthcare provider closest to your injured client that accepts LOP can be hard and frustrating. Not every healthcare provider accepts LOP so, you may have to research and call various injury clinics closest to your client to determine if they accept LOP – a process that is both stressful and time-consuming.
Luckily, with LOPNetwork.com, you can bypass this process and quickly find healthcare providers near you that accepts LOP to ensure your client get quick and quality medical attention that they need. With LOPNetwork.com, personal injury attorneys search professional healthcare providers that accept LOP across the nation based on their specialty, capability, and location.
We connect personal Injury attorneys to different healthcare providers like digital imaging centers, physical therapists, pain management clinics, chiropractors, dentists, pharmacies, surgeons, acupuncturists, physicians. That means personal injury attorneys and their injured clients have access to convenient and professional LOP healthcare providers without wasting time making calls and doing research to determine what healthcare providers accept LOP.
by Samuel Awe
An auto accident can occur anywhere, anytime. While some can lead to serious, life-threatening injuries, others may present no immediate pain or other injury signs that you may think that you’re fine, and seeing a doctor is unnecessary. However, it is crucial to get a medical evaluation even if you seem to have walked away from an auto crash without a scratch. That is because some injury symptoms do not manifest for hours or days after an auto crash.
In this post, you will learn about the top delayed injury symptoms to watch out for after an auto accident. You will also learn how to get help if you lack funds to cover your treatment costs up-front or a personal injury protection insurance coverage.
An auto crash can result in a sprain in the back or soft tissue damage, herniated disc, spinal injury, whiplash – all of which could lead to extremely frustrating and uncomfortable back pain. The impact of an auto crash can also lead to vertebrae or spinal misalignments. The misaligned vertebrae can strain the nerves around the spinal cord and lead to a tingling sensation, numbness, or pinched nerve pain.
Back pain can restrict movement and flexibility. Don’t ignore the pain; make sure you consult a physical therapist or an orthopedic specialist to see the right treatment option for you before the situation worsens.
Pain in the shoulders and neck is usually a sign of whiplash - one of the most common neck injuries sustained in an auto crash. You may experience this soreness, pain, or even blurred vision, limited range of motion, and headaches right after the crash, but at times these symptoms may be delayed.
If you start experiencing stiffness, soreness, or pain around your shoulders, neck, or head, you need to consult with your doctor for a proper diagnosis. If whiplash is not the cause of the pain, it could be as a result of a spinal cord injury, which requires urgent treatment.
After an auto accident, the chances are that you may have hit your head against an object such as the car frame, window, or the steering wheel. The effect of the crash could have made your brain to move or shift inside your skull. That can lead to headaches and migraines, which is one of the most common symptoms of a head or neck injury, concussion, blood clot in the brain, or traumatic brain injury. If you were recently involved in a car accident or having a head injury and frequent headaches after an auto crash, you need to get urgent medical attention.
You need to take the pain in your torso or abdomen after an auto crash very seriously, as it could be an indication of internal bleeding, especially if it is accompanied by swelling. Most internal bleeding or injury cases end up as life-threatening. They require prompt medical attention, but you may not notice the signs for days or hours after an accident. Other clear symptoms of internal bleeding include:
If you experience any of these signs, you must see a doctor as soon as you can!
Numbness and tingling sensations after a car accident could be a sign of severe damage to the spinal cord or the nerves that surround it. Watch out for any loss of feeling or tingling sensation, like needles and pins, in your arms, hands, fingers tip, toes, and feet.
Note that these symptoms can persist if left untreated and can lead to paralysis. Thankfully, healthcare providers like spine specialists, physical therapists, and chiropractors can diagnose and treat post-accident injuries that can lead to tingling and numbness.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder isn’t just for police officers and military personnel; you can also develop this mental disorder after an auto crash. This mental disorder can be subtle at first and can worsen over time. It can impact your quality of life, make you an insomniac, and affect your ability to enjoy the things you enjoyed before. You may also have trouble concentrating on anything or experience car phobia. If you suspect you’re having a sign of PTSD, consult with a mental health professional as soon as you can.
Post-accident injuries are not always physical. Sometimes, they can be emotional. Your emotional and behavioral changes can be a sign of traumatic brain injury. The injury can cause depression, memory loss, and affect how you perceive things.
As an injury attorney, it is essential to understand that delayed injuries symptoms can be an indication of immediate medical attention. They can be deadly, especially when your clients lack a personal injury protection insurance coverage or funds to cover their treatment costs up-front. Thankfully, with LOPNetwork, you can get your injured clients all the urgent medical attention they need with no out of pocket expense to them.
Our network allows personal injury lawyers to search for professional healthcare providers that accept LOP across the nation based on their specialty, capability, and location. This reduces the time wasted in researching and calling different healthcare providers to determine if they accept LOP and increases the speed at which your injured clients get access to convenient and professional LOP healthcare providers for urgent and costly post-accident treatments.
Not registered on our network? Join us today at www.lopnetwork.com
by Samuel Awe
Companies and business owners are required to provide their workers with a reasonably healthy and safe work environment. At times, they fail to carry out this responsibility, and their workers get injured as a result. Sometimes, employees can make every effort possible to keep their workplace healthy and safe, but their workers may still fall victim to work-related accidents and get injured.
While the state law requires most employers to provide their employees with workers compensation insurance, the compensation law does not cover some employees, like railroad workers and independent contractors. Also, in some rare cases, workers can sue their employers to court for work injuries that result from negligence or deliberate violations of work environment safety regulations. In this post, you will learn about workers' rights after sustaining an injury from a work accident.
The easiest and surefire way to protect your legal rights after a work injury is by reporting the work accident and injury you sustained to your employer. In most states, you're required to report the work injury you sustained within a given period, usually within the day of the incident or a few days after. Based on the nature of the injury, reporting on the day of the incident may not always be feasible, but it is essential to make the report as soon as you can.
Next, file a claim with the industrial court or workers' compensation court in your state. That will put your employer's insurance company, your employer, and the court on formal notice of the work injury. The moment you filed the claim, some protections are automatically put in place, and we will examine them in the section below.
Just as workers' injury compensation laws differ from state to state, the legal rights of an injured worker and the legal procedures to ensure those rights also vary. However, in most states, some constitutional rights are common; these include:
As an employee, it is essential to know your right to act or to refuse some offers or requests. For instance, you have the right to say "no" if your boss encourages you to pay for your medical treatment when you're injured, using your health insurance. Also, you have the right to say "no" if you're offered some incentives by your employer to stop you from filing a worker's compensation claim as it is an illegal act.
In each state, the laws provide that you can file the workers' compensation claim without any harassment from your boss or fear of reprisal. The penalties and punishments that your employer will serve if he stops or makes it difficult for you to exercise these rights freely can be severe. It is unlawful for your supervisor or employer to make doing your job more challenging or harass you at work because you filed a workers' compensation claim.
At times, work injuries are not caused by the negligence of the employer but that of a third party. Based on the situation, the third party may be a delivery truck driver or a manufacturer or designer of a malfunctioning piece of equipment. You can bring a claim against the third party if you're injured at work due to their negligence. These third-party claims take the form of a civil lawsuit and are not filled in the workers' compensation court but the federal or state courts.
You can seek extra personal injury damages which you cannot recover in a worker's compensation claim with a third-party claim (civil lawsuit for work-related injuries). For instance, in a workers' compensation claim, the benefits you'll get are intended to cover the payments for your lost wages and medical expenditures – you're typically not permitted to pursue the reimbursement for suffering and pain. But in a civil lawsuit for work-related injuries, you are permitted to seek reimbursement for non-economic damages, which include suffering and pain.
Good question! In situations like this, you can get the urgent medical treatment you need and delay the payment for your treatment with a Letter of Protection. Your injury attorney will prepare a Letter of Protection and send it to your healthcare provider (who accepts LOP) to allow you to obtain the medical attention you need without worrying about coming out of pocket up-front for your treatment. This Letter of Protection indicates that you are going to pay all the medical expenses you incurred when you recover the money for the injuries, either by a trial judgment, case settlement or out of pocket.
Victims of work-related injuries need all the urgent medical attention they can get. However, finding a healthcare provider closest to you that accepts LOP can be hard and frustrating. That is because not every healthcare provider accepts LOP so, your injury lawyer may have to research and call various injury clinics closest to you to determine if they accept LOP. This process is not only stressful but also time-consuming.
Thankfully, with LOPNetwork, personal injury lawyers can bypass this stressful process and quickly find injury clinics near their clients that accepts LOP to ensure that they get the quick and quality medical attention they need.
Our network allows personal injury lawyers to search for professional healthcare providers that accept LOP across the nation based on their capability, specialty, and location. This significantly reduces the time wasted in researching and calling different healthcare providers to determine if they accept LOP and speed up the rate at which your injured clients get access to convenient and professional LOP healthcare providers for urgent and costly work injury treatments.
by Samuel Awe
What To Do After A Work Injury
If you're injured on a job, the chances are that you'll be eligible to receive your workers' compensation benefits. However, there are a few things you need to do to avoid a delay in receiving the compensation benefits. In this post, you're going to learn more about the things you need to do after you sustained a work injury.
If I get injured on a job, what should I do?
The essential thing to know as an employee is that you should report a work injury immediately to your employer or supervisor, if possible, in writing, anytime you get injured on the job. While some states allow you to notify your employer about a work injury verbally, others require that you report the incident in a written form. However, to be on the safer side, you should report any injury you sustained on your job to your supervisory personnel or employer in a written format.
In some states, the filing deadline (also known as limitation statute) is short. So, you should file the reports instantly to prevent the loss of any legal rights you have to get your compensation benefits from your boss. Also, you need to know your rights after a work injury as it will help you protect your legal rights and prevent a delay in receiving your worker's compensation.
Get medical attention as soon as you can, especially if your illness or injury requires urgent treatment and file a workers' compensation claim. However, before you file the claim, you should consult with a lawyer who is experienced in handling claims related to workers' compensation. That will make the filing process smoother and help you to know the benefits you're entitled to receive.
If I get sick or injured at work, do I have to be treated by my doctor or the company's doctor?
Under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), you may choose any competent medical personnel to treat you at first – even though there are some restrictions placed by the law on the use of chiropractors. If you're not under FECA, i.e., you're not a federal worker, your state law will apply.
Some state allows you to be treated by your doctor provided that you have this request in a written form before you got injured. However, a doctor recruited by their boss usually treats injured or sick employees. Typically, you only have to consult the company's physician for a maximum of 30 days before you can see your doctor.
If you're a federal worker and the medical reports that address workers' compensation officials' concerns and questions are submitted by your doctor, there'll be no problem unless your boss requests a second opinion doctor's report. There's no problem if the second opinion examination's report correlates with the opinions of your treating doctor, so the payment of your FECA compensation will continue with no interruption. However, if the first doctor's report is different or does not agree with the second opinion examination's report, the office will either:
Typically, the worker's compensation agency attaches more importance to the second opinion medical evaluation report than the treating doctor's report. You have the right to appeal if the second opinion examination modifies your compensation. The worker's compensation office will employ a "referee" or third doctor to resolve any conflicts in the first and second doctor's report if it declares a "tie" and agrees that both medical evidence have equal weight.
Your doctor's evaluation report will impact the compensation benefits you'll receive. However, you should not forget that the doctor employed by your boss or his insurance company is not your friend. His or her desire to get more business may encourage him/her to identify your injury symptoms as a preexisting condition or lower its gravity. For instance, it would be unreasonable to give the company's doctor your 10-year history of the times you had a minor backache or pain if he asks if you've ever had back issues before. You can treat him to your history if you've suffered a chronic condition or a significant injury in the past; if not, just say "no."
What if my boss has no workers' compensation insurance?
Apart from a few exceptions like independent contractors, domestic employers, and agricultural employers, the law requires that all employers should have workers' compensation insurance. However, if your employer has no workers' compensation insurance, call the worker compensation agency or the labor department of your state or a lawyer as soon as possible.
The chances are that your state will pay for your compensation benefits if your employer has no workers' compensation insurance. Also, you may be able to sue your employer for negligence if it carries no workers' compensation insurance when it should.
Can I get urgent treatment even if I lack funds or personal injury insurance coverage to cover the costs of my treatment?
Yes! You can get urgent medical treatment and delay the payment for the treatment until you receive your workers' compensation benefit with a Letter of Protection. All you need to do is to consult with your injury attorney who will prepare and send a LOP to your healthcare provider so that you can obtain the medical attention you need.
However, not all healthcare providers accept LOP, so your injury attorney may have to resolve to the stressful and time-consuming process of calling and researching various injury clinics around you to determine if they accept LOP.
Thankfully, with LOPNetwork, personal injury attorneys no longer need to waste time using the stressful and time-consuming process to determine which healthcare providers accept LOP. They can now quickly find injury clinics or professional healthcare providers that accept LOP across the nation based on their specialty, capability, and location. That means their clients can now get quick access to a convenient and professional LOP healthcare providers for a swift and quality medical treatment that they need.
Not registered on our network? Visit us at www.lopnetwork.com.
LOPNetwork.com is a premiere searchable network of LOP providers available to attorneys to help find necessary care for injured parties.
Simply enter the service your client needs and location, and you will see all the LOP providers available to your client. Now you can find them with ease as a member of the growing LOPNetwork.com list of providers who accept LOP patients.