Oregon Personal Injury Liens

Oregon Personal Injury Liens

When the Oregon government pays for medical expenses related to a personal injury claim, they can put a lien on a related personal injury settlement. Accordingly, this helps the government reclaim the funds they paid related to that settlement. Usually, this involves Medicaid recipients. Medicaid in Oregon is referred to as the Oregon Health Plan ("OHP"). Common OHP plans include Health Share of Oregon and PacificSource Community Solutions. The exact plan name varies by your resident Oregon county. If you have OHP and have a personal injury claim, you should know how Oregon Health Plan personal injury liens work.

What Is A Lien?

Here are two definitions of a Lien:

A charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law.

As defined by Marriam-Webster

Any official claim or charge against property or funds for payment of a debt or an amount owed for services rendered. A lien is usually a formal document signed by the party to whom money is owed and sometimes by the debtor who agrees to the amount due.

As defined by Dictionary.Law.com

Personal Injury Liens Unit (PIL)

The government of Oregon has a specific unit that deals with personal injury liens. Correspondingly, the PIL takes in reports for accidents or incident-related injuries. They receive these reports from clients (or their representatives), DHS/OHA staff, attorneys, insurance adjusters, and coordinated care organizations (CCOs). Once a report is received the PIL creates an reference number for the individual receiving benefits and the event. The PIL will want to know if you are going to seek recovery for the at-fault party and their insurance company. If so, the PIL will seek regular updates on the status of your claim to make sure the OHP interest is being protected.

ORS 416.530 Reporting Requirements

ORS 416.530 lays out the reporting requirements for a notice of claim to a department, authority, or coordinated care organization. You can make a report through a webpage provided by Oregon's PIL. The form is located here. Additionally, a useful FAQ is located here. Moreover, it is very likely that PIL will contact you to see if medical care is the result of someone else's negligent conduct.

Oregon Personal Injury Lawyers

Have you or a loved one been injured through no fault of yours? The experienced and capable personal injury lawyers of Johnson Law may be able to help. We fight insurance companies in order to secure fair compensation for people like you.