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I have been getting a very large number of searches on the topic of attorney letters of protection. Enough that I felt the need to address them more. The original post is located at http://www.shtexaslawyer.com/blog/admin.php?ctrl=items&blog=1&p=75.

A letter of protection works like a credit account. To my knowledge, only lawyers can issue a letter of protection. The letter of protection creates a lien on the case for the benefit of the doctor. What it promises is that if the doctor will not seek to collect his fees now, the doctor will be paid out of the proceeds of the final settlement of the case. These letters are crucial to injured people without health insurance, personal injury protection coverage, or medical payments coverage. In those circumstances the injured person has to pay the doctor up front in cash or with a credit card, unless they have a lawyer who can issue a letter of protection.

A letter of protection does not make a bill go away. The bill remains the responsibility of the client. The letter does bind the attorney to satisfy the bill before the client can be paid. A letter of protection does not bind the health care provider to any reductions, nor does it make the doctors payment contingent on the outcome of the case. If the case does not work out where the doctor can be paid in full, the client remains responsible for the balance of the bill.

Not all health care providers will accept a letter of protection. Hospitals, care-flight, ambulance services and surgeons are examples of health care businesses that usually will not accept a letter of protection. The collection agencies for these entities often do accept a letter of protection before they put any marks on a patient's credit history.

I can't help but wonder how many people searching this topic are looking to understand what a letter of protection is, and how many are trying to figure out how to get one. If you are injured, do not have insurance to cover treatment, and are seeking to get a letter of protection to go forward with treatment, you need a lawyer!