The health insurance industry is constantly experimenting with new medical health insurance plans and health insurance innovations. The most common form of health insurance innovation is lawsuit settlements. However, these settlements are not without controversy. It appears that there are some health insurance companies who would rather see their consumers get very sick and needlessly die than sue for damages.
It was not too long ago that a California health insurance company settled a lawsuit by allowing a cancer sufferer’s lawsuit to go forward despite his condition having been diagnosed before he began using the insurance plan. This was seen as an absolute travesty by the plaintiff’s attorney. This is because plaintiffs do not lose anything by suing. Rather, they lose whatever monetary compensation they are able to collect from the defendant through the use of lawsuit funding.
If health insurance companies can settle lawsuits without allowing the plaintiffs to collect anything, why should anyone settle a personal injury lawsuit? After all, this means that the health insurance companies will be able to get away with literally throwing money at the plaintiff. In addition, such funds are not even guaranteed by the courts. As we have seen with the California settlement example, the health insurance companies may decide to simply refuse to participate in any lawsuit funding program due to the potential cost involved.
The problem is that if the plaintiff is unable to collect any money from the defendant due to the refusal to enter into a lawsuit funding program, the plaintiff does not stand a chance of obtaining any monies from the defendant. In this situation, the plaintiff is left to file another lawsuit in an attempt to obtain monies to pay his or her living expenses and medical bills. The plaintiff thus enters into a vicious cycle of lawsuits. He needs more lawsuit funding in order to sustain his activities and the costs associated with each lawsuit. But again, if the health insurance companies refuse to participate in any lawsuit funding programs, the plaintiff is left with no other option but to file yet another lawsuit in an attempt to collect monies from the defendant.
It is important to note that health insurance companies have recognized that many of their current customers have either been wronged or are likely to be wronged by their health insurance policies. Therefore, the health insurance companies are eager to provide lawsuit loans and lawsuit funding to their current clients in order to prevent them from going under. If the current lawsuit does not succeed, then the health insurance companies stand to lose money if the plaintiff’s current lawsuit is unsuccessful. Thus, it is very likely that most health insurance companies are eager to settle any pending litigation for much less than the actual value of the settlement loans.
However, if you do decide to file a lawsuit then you must be prepared to research your lawsuit as thoroughly as possible. Remember, every health insurance company is unique, therefore the same health insurance company may not be behind another company’s lawsuit funding. If you have been wronged, you need to make sure that the health insurance company from which you have sued is willing to negotiate a reasonable settlement out of court.