Can I Get Medical Treatment After a Car Accident If I Don’t Have Health Insurance?

Reviewed by: Brennan Heuser, Personal Injury Attorney, Heuser & Heuser, L.L.P. | June 2026

Yes. In Colorado, you can usually get medical treatment after a car accident even without health insurance. Many doctors, clinics, and hospitals will treat you under a medical lien or a letter of protection. These arrangements let you get care now and defer payment until your injury claim resolves. This guide explains how liens work, what they cost you, and how a personal injury attorney can reduce the amount you repay.

What is a medical lien?

A medical lien is a written agreement that lets a healthcare provider treat you now and collect payment later from your injury settlement. Instead of billing you up front, the provider holds a claim against the money you recover from the at-fault driver. You get treatment without paying at the time of service.

A letter of protection works the same way. Your attorney sends the provider a written promise to pay the bill from any settlement, and the provider agrees to wait. Both tools open the door to care when you cannot pay out of pocket.

How do medical liens work after a car accident?

The process is straightforward:

1. You get treatment, and the provider agrees in writing to wait for payment.
2. The provider records a lien or accepts a letter of protection tied to your claim.
3. Your attorney pursues a recovery from the at-fault driver’s insurance.
4. When the case resolves, the lien is repaid from the settlement before you receive your share.

Two kinds of liens come up most often. A hospital lien is created under Colorado statute. A provider lien or letter of protection is a private agreement with a doctor, chiropractor, imaging center, or surgeon. Both give the provider the right to be paid from your recovery.

What are the benefits of treating on a lien?

Treating on a lien removes the cash barrier to care. The main benefits:

• You get medical care without paying out of pocket at the time of treatment.
• You can keep treating until you reach maximum medical improvement, which supports both your health and your claim.
• Your treatment is documented in a way that connects your injuries to the crash.
• You protect your savings and avoid medical collections while your case is pending.

Do liens have to be repaid?

Yes. A lien postpones payment until your case resolves. It does not erase the bill. When your case ends, the lien is paid back out of your settlement, which lowers the amount you take home. The money comes out of your recovery, so the cost is real even though you pay nothing at the time of treatment.

If your case does not produce a recovery, you may still owe the provider, depending on the agreement you signed. Read every lien agreement before you sign it, and have your attorney review the terms first.

What does Colorado law say about medical liens?

Colorado regulates medical liens to protect injured people. Under the hospital lien statute, C.R.S. § 38-27-101, a hospital must bill your available insurance before it can place a lien against your recovery. In 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court settled this question. It reversed a lower court ruling and held that a hospital must bill a patient’s primary insurance, including Medicare, before it can file a lien. See Harvey v. Catholic Health Initiatives, 2021 CO 65, 495 P.3d 935 (Colo. 2021). When you have no insurance to bill, the statute allows a lien to be created.

Colorado law also gives you rights once a lien exists. A provider that treats you on a lien must give you an itemized statement of charges on request and must follow the disclosure rules in C.R.S. § 38-27.5. Your attorney’s lien for fees takes priority over a hospital lien, and the collateral source rule, C.R.S. § 13-21-111.6, affects how your medical expenses are valued in your claim.

How can a personal injury attorney reduce your liens?

Liens come out of your settlement, so reducing them leaves more money with you. A personal injury attorney can:

• Negotiate the balance down, since providers often accept less than the full amount, especially when the recovery is limited.
• Request itemized billing and challenge charges that are unreasonable, duplicated, or unrelated to the crash.
• Verify that any hospital lien followed Colorado’s statutory requirements.
• Hold the settlement funds and resolve every lien before you are paid, so no bill surprises you later.

At Heuser & Heuser, lien review and negotiation are part of how we handle every injury case. We request itemized billing, question charges that do not belong, and work to lower what you repay so more of your recovery reaches you.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see a doctor after a car accident with no insurance?

Yes. Many providers treat on a lien or letter of protection and wait for payment from your settlement.

Will a medical lien hurt my credit?

A lien tied to your active claim is repaid from your settlement and is handled differently from an unpaid bill sent to collections. Ask your attorney how to keep your treatment on a lien basis and protect your credit.

What if my settlement is less than my medical bills?

Liens can often be negotiated down. Your attorney works to reduce the balance so more of the recovery reaches you.

Do I have to pay the lien if I do not win my case?

It depends on the agreement you signed. Some lien agreements still hold you responsible. Have an attorney review the terms before you sign.

How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Colorado?

Most car accident injury claims in Colorado must be filed within three years of the crash under C.R.S. § 13-80-101. Deadlines change in some situations, so speak with an attorney early.

How Our Colorado Springs Car Accident Attorneys Handle Medical Liens

The attorneys at Heuser & Heuser, L.L.P. have spent decades managing the complexities of medical liens and Colorado’s hospital lien statute for neighbors in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Our team reviews every lien and letter of protection tied to your care, gathers itemized medical billing, and looks for charges that appear inflated, billed more than once, or tied to something other than the crash. We handle communication with the insurance company and your providers, and we take a structured approach to resolving every lien before your case reaches settlement or litigation.

Our Colorado Springs car accident attorneys take the time to understand how your injuries affect your daily life, your ability to work, and your recovery moving forward. From there, we explain how your liens will be handled and what you can expect at each stage, from your first treatment through final settlement.

Talk to Heuser & Heuser

Injured in a car accident and worried about treatment? Get a free consultation. No fee unless we win.

Call 719-224-9739 or visit heuserlaw.com. 625 N Cascade Ave, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

This article provides general information about Colorado law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, speak with a licensed Colorado attorney.

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