In October of 2019, the Pothitakis Law Firm was able to successfully settle a claim relating to an auto accident. Our client was on a motorcycle when the accident occurred. She sustained severe injuries as a result of the accident which resulted in surgery and hospitalization. The negligent party’s insurance carrier offered the full extent of their policy limits to settle the claim. It became clear that the insurance limits would be the only funds available to pay for our client’s damages. The primary problem that we had with respect to the claim was the fact that our client’s medical expenses were paid by Medicaid. Medicaid had a significant lien and claim to be reimbursed from any settlement. Under Iowa law, if Medicaid pays medical expenses associated with an auto accident that is the fault of another, Medicaid has a right to seek and be reimbursed any amounts that they have paid. In this case, the Medicaid lien was significant. When Pothitakis Law Firm initially contacted Medicaid they indicated that they wanted 100 percent of their money back. The Pothitakis Law Firm took the position that federal case law should force them to reduce their claim significantly so that our client could receive a majority of the settlement funds. After back and forth negotiations the Pothitakis Law Firm was able to successfully reduce the Medicaid claim by approximately 80 percent. This reduction resulted in a significant amount of money going directly to the client.
The claim was settled for a confidential amount. Our client thanked us and was very satisfied that we were able to provide most of the settlement to her, as opposed to it being paid over to Medicaid.
