I’m in California and was in a motorcycle accident in July. I finally received my personal injury settlement, but my attorney took about $33,000 from my settlement and paid it to Rawlings.
The problem is I have emails and letters from Kaiser stating there was no active lien and that they would not be taking anything from my settlement.
Now Rawlings is saying they are Kaiser’s third-party recovery company and that the money was taken anyway. After the payment, they started calling it a “statutory lien,” but no one will clearly explain why it was paid after I already had written proof from Kaiser saying nothing would be taken.
I’m trying to understand:
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Can Rawlings legally take money from my settlement as Kaiser’s third-party recovery company if Kaiser already told me in writing there was no active lien?
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Can they change it after the fact and call it a “statutory lien” after the money was already paid?
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If the payment was made in error, who is responsible for getting the money returned — Rawlings, Kaiser, or my attorney?
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If Kaiser gave written proof there was no active lien and no money would be taken, does that help me fight to get the money back?
I have the written emails and letters from Kaiser and I can prove I gave that information before or during the settlement process.
Location: California
California – My attorney paid Rawlings from my PI settlement after Kaiser told me in writing there was no active lien
byu/Turbulent_Buy_9390 inInsurance
Posted by Turbulent_Buy_9390
1 Comment
This is going to depend on the type of coverage you had through Kaiser (for example if your Kaiser coverage is Medicaid contracted, ERISA qualified, or a Medicare advantage plan) and whether the insurance settlement was sufficient to make you whole. It’s also possible that if when Kaiser said they didn’t have a lien, they meant for outstanding treatment (medical bills) that you received at Kaiser, rather than on the insurance end of it. Your attorney should have explained all of this to you when you discussed the settlement.