Short Answer

Yes. In North Carolina, you can recover the reasonable and necessary cost of crash-related medical care—including chiropractic treatment and pain-management injections—even if you have not paid the copays yet. The law allows recovery of amounts already paid and the amounts still owed that are necessary to satisfy your medical bills, and providers can often be repaid from your settlement under North Carolina’s medical lien rules. If you have medical payments coverage on your auto policy, it may help with copays regardless of fault.

Understanding the Problem

You were rear-ended in North Carolina and need ongoing care. You want to know if you can recover the costs of chiropractic visits and pain injections when you cannot afford copays right now. This question is about whether the at-fault driver (through their insurer) can be required to cover those treatment costs and how unpaid copays factor into your claim.

Apply the Law

North Carolina injury law lets an injured person recover medical expenses that are reasonably necessary and caused by the crash. Chiropractic care and pain-management injections can qualify if your providers relate them to crash injuries (for example, neck, back, or radicular leg pain). Evidence of medical expenses at trial is limited to the amounts actually paid to satisfy your bills and the amounts still owed that are necessary to satisfy them. Medical providers may assert statutory liens and be repaid from any settlement or judgment, subject to caps that protect your net recovery.

Key Requirements

• Causation: The chiropractic care and injections must be linked to injuries from the crash.
• Reasonable and necessary: Treatment must be appropriate for your condition; provider records should explain why.
• Amounts paid and owed: You can claim what has been paid plus the unpaid balance needed to satisfy the bills (including copays).
• Provider liens and reimbursement: Providers can seek payment from your recovery, but total medical liens are capped by statute.
• Forum and timing: Claims typically start with the liability insurer; if unresolved, file in North Carolina District Court (≤ $25,000) or Superior Court (> $25,000), generally within three years of the crash.

What the Statutes Say

• N.C. R. Evid. 414 (Medical expenses evidence) - Limits proof of medical bills to amounts paid and amounts necessary to satisfy unpaid charges.
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-49 (Medical provider liens) - Allows health care providers to assert liens on injury recoveries when notice and itemization requirements are met.
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-50 (Lien limits and payment) - Caps the total of medical liens to protect the injured person’s share of the recovery after attorney’s fees.

Analysis

Apply the Rule to the Facts: A rear-end crash with ongoing neck, back, and leg pain supports medical treatment such as therapy, chiropractic care, and possibly injections if your providers say they are needed because of the collision. Even if you have not paid copays, those unpaid amounts are part of the balance necessary to satisfy your bills and can be claimed. Providers can often treat now and be repaid later from your settlement under North Carolina’s medical lien rules, subject to statutory limits that protect your net recovery.

Process & Timing

1. Who files: You (through counsel). Where: Start with a claim to the at-fault driver’s liability insurer; if no resolution, file a lawsuit in the county where the crash occurred or where the defendant resides, in District Court (≤ $25,000) or Superior Court (> $25,000). What: Send a demand with medical records, bills, and proof of payments/amounts owed; file a civil complaint if needed. When: North Carolina generally allows three years from the crash to file a negligence lawsuit.
2. Ask your providers if they will treat under a lien/letter of protection. They typically send written notice and an itemized statement so the lien attaches; collecting records and bills can take a few weeks.
3. Negotiate with the insurer. If a settlement is reached, funds are disbursed: attorney’s fees/costs, then medical liens and reimbursements consistent with lien caps, with the remainder to you. If no settlement, the case proceeds through litigation and, if necessary, trial.

Exceptions & Pitfalls

• Gaps in treatment or missed appointments can undermine the “reasonable and necessary” element—keep consistent care and follow provider advice.
• If health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare paid bills, reimbursement rules apply; resolve these correctly to avoid delays at settlement.
• Under the evidence rule, you cannot claim the full “sticker price” if a lower amount satisfied the bill; keep explanation-of-benefit statements.
• Do not ignore lien notices; provider liens are capped, but unpaid or disputed liens can hold up settlement disbursement.
• Be cautious with recorded statements and broad medical authorizations; unnecessary disclosures can complicate causation.

Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney

If you’re dealing with crash-related medical bills and unpaid copays for chiropractic care or injections, our firm has experienced attorneys who can help you understand your options and timelines. Reach out today at (919) 341-7055.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about North Carolina law based on the single question stated above. It is not legal advice for your specific situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, procedures, and local practice can change and may vary by county. If you have a deadline, act promptly and speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.