Being injured in a car accident in Nevada without health insurance creates an immediate practical problem: you need medical treatment now, but you cannot afford to pay out of pocket, and your medical providers will not treat you on credit without some guarantee of payment. The letter of protection (LOP) is the solution used by thousands of Nevada personal injury attorneys and medical providers every year to ensure that injured victims receive full and complete medical treatment regardless of their insurance status.
Injured in Las Vegas? Call Marathon Law Group at (702) 522-1808 for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win your case.
What Is a Letter of Protection?
A letter of protection is a written agreement signed by your personal injury attorney that guarantees payment to a medical provider from the proceeds of your personal injury settlement or verdict. The letter promises that when your case resolves, your attorney will pay the medical provider’s bills directly from the settlement funds — before you receive your portion — in exchange for the provider treating you now and deferring payment. The medical provider accepts the lien in lieu of immediate payment, knowing that the attorney is contractually committed to honoring the LOP.
Letters of protection are used for a wide range of medical services in Nevada personal injury cases: emergency room visits, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pain management injections, physical therapy, chiropractic care, MRI and advanced imaging, psychiatric treatment, and specialist evaluations. Medical providers who routinely accept LOPs in Las Vegas and the surrounding Clark County area have experience working with personal injury attorneys and understand the process.
How LOPs Affect Your Claim Value
Under Nevada law and the collateral source rule, the full billed amount of your medical treatment — not just any discounted or negotiated rate — may be recoverable as economic damages from the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier. This is an important distinction from how health insurance subrogation works: when your health insurance pays discounted rates negotiated with in-network providers, you can typically only recover what was actually paid, not the full billed amount. LOP treatment is often billed at the provider’s standard rates without insurance discounts, which means your recoverable medical damages may be higher.
Nevada courts have addressed the interplay between the collateral source rule and medical billing, and the law continues to evolve on what constitutes the “reasonable value” of medical services. Your attorney’s ability to demonstrate the reasonableness of billed charges — through expert testimony, standard billing schedules, and the provider’s standard rates — is important to maximizing your recovery.
Negotiating LOP Balances at Settlement
One of the most important things your attorney does at the conclusion of your case is negotiate the LOP balances owed to medical providers. Most providers who accept LOPs are willing to reduce their bills when the total available insurance proceeds are limited — for example, when the at-fault driver had a low policy limit of $25,000 and your medical bills are $60,000. Your attorney negotiates proportionate reductions with each lienholder to ensure that you receive a meaningful net recovery from the settlement rather than having the entire settlement absorbed by medical bills.
This negotiation process requires skill and experience. Attorneys who handle a high volume of Nevada personal injury cases typically have established working relationships with the medical providers who accept LOPs and can achieve meaningful reductions. The goal is to maximize your net take-home recovery after all bills are paid.
LOPs vs. Health Insurance: Which Is Better?
If you have health insurance, you have a choice about how to obtain treatment after a car accident. Using your health insurance may result in lower billed amounts due to negotiated rates, but your health insurer will typically have a subrogation right to be reimbursed from your settlement — reducing your net recovery. Using LOP treatment may result in higher billed amounts but gives your attorney more flexibility to negotiate reductions at the end of the case. The right strategy depends on your specific policy terms, the extent of your injuries, the available insurance limits in the case, and your attorney’s assessment of the best approach for your situation.
Contact Marathon Law Group
Marathon Law Group helps injured Nevada residents obtain quality medical treatment through letters of protection and maximize their recovery from the responsible parties. If you were injured in a car accident and are concerned about affording treatment, contact us for a free consultation to discuss your options.
If you or a loved one has been injured, contact our experienced Las Vegas medical malpractice attorney at Marathon Law Group. We offer free consultations and only get paid when you win.