LOP - What It Means and How You Can Benefit from It

by Candace Nguyen 08/11/2020

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.

What is LOP?

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.

How Does it Work?

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.

Who needs LOP?

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.

Do all healthcare providers accept a Letter of Protection?

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. 

Where can you find a healthcare provider that accepts LOP near you?

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.