#4 How are my medical bills paid if I’m hit by a car while walking or riding a bicycle?

QUESTION: How are my medical bills paid if I am hit by a car while walking or riding a bicycle?

ANSWER: In Oregon, if you’re hit by a car as a pedestrian or cyclist, your own car insurance’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers your medical bills. If you don’t own a car, and you’re living with a family member, their If there is not an auto insurance policy to access, your health insurance will cover your medical treatment and expenses. You can then make a claim against the insurance company for the driver who hit you or expenses not covered by your PIP coverage or your health insurance. This ensures your medical expenses will be paid for under Oregon’s PIP law.

How are my medical bills paid if I am hit by a car while walking or riding a bicycle? 

The laws in Oregon that dictate the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage you have associated with your car insurance policy are different when you’re injured as a pedestrian, skateboarder, walker, jogger, runner, bicyclist, or rollerblading.

If you’re a pedestrian and you’re hit by a car, the insurance company that is responsible first in line for your medical expenses is the insurance company for your own automobile insurance policy.

That may sound strange because it doesn’t seem to make sense that someone hits you with their car and your car insurance policy is the one responsible for the expenses related to your accident as a pedestrian. However, that is the way the PIP statutes are written in the state of Oregon.

If you are a pedestrian and you’re injured by a car in the state of Oregon, you will file a claim with your own auto insurance company, even though you were not in your car.

What about if your son or daughter who is under eighteen years old, is injured as a pedestrian crossing the street? Again, then your automobile insurance is going to pay for your child’s medical care.

What if you don’t have a car? Then, what do you do?

You actually check with the family members you live with at the time of your accident, to see who has automobile insurance, and then you file a claim with their insurance company.

I know that sounds strange, but it’s the way the PIP law is written in Oregon for pedestrian accidents. If you don’t have automobile insurance and if you don’t live with a family member who has automobile insurance, then you use your health insurance to cover your medical expenses.

If you have other expenses as a result of your pedestrian accident that are not paid by a family member’s PIP coverage or by your health insurance company such as co-pays or deductibles — or if you don’t have health insurance — generally speaking, then and only then is when you can file a claim against the insurance company for the driver of the car who hit you.

If you’re injured in an accident when you’re in a car, you can never file a claim with the PIP carrier of the car that hit you. You can only do that as a pedestrian.

It’s important to also know that there are several other PIP policies that you may be able to access to cover your medical bills if you are injured as a pedestrian. We’ve written another blog post about other PIP coverage that may be available for you. The article was written for medical providers who treat people injured in accidents, but there is good information about other PIP policies that may be helpful to you.

Whether you’re our client or not, we want to be a bridge of support for you.

We’ve developed a robust library of articles and videos organized into four topics which include our responses to the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often.

• Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
• What You Need to Know About Your Claim
• How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
• How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam

The articles provide advice and guidelines to help you navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent you or not, we are passionate about helping you protect your rights, you receiving the medical care you need to recover from your injuries, and having the information you need to avoid mistakes that can harm your personal injury claim.