Letters of Protection
Letters of Protection are extremely useful when there is no health insurance available to our clients because they allow a person without cash or health insurance to generate medical bills that must be compensated. When a client is represented by a lawyer, the lawyer can issue a letter to the doctor asking the doctor to hold the bill for collection, and promising to pay the doctor out of the proceeds of the case. This letter is usually called a Letter of Protection (LOP). The LOP does not make the lawyer responsible for the bill. The bill remains a contract between the patient/client and the doctor. The LOP does become a contract between the lawyer and the doctor.
In reality the LOP is the only way some people can get the care they need as a result of somebody else's negligent conduct. If you don't have health insurance, or can't afford your co-pays, then you can't get medical care at a price that fits your budget. In most cases the LOP is just like a credit extension. The bill is whatever it would have been, the payment is just deferred.