You have 2 years from the crash date in West Virginia to file the injury case, and if you blow that deadline, the whole claim can be worth zero.

1. Usually, wait until the liens are identified.

Taking a rushed year-end settlement before the lien numbers are nailed down is how people get ambushed. If Medicare, West Virginia Medicaid, a workers' comp carrier, or a hospital like CAMC has a reimbursement claim, that money does not magically disappear because the check cleared. It comes out of the same settlement pie.

2. Find out who is in line before you sign anything.

For a Charleston on-the-job crash, the usual suspects are:

• Medicare conditional payments
• West Virginia Medicaid reimbursement
• Your employee's health insurer subrogation claim
• Workers' compensation reimbursement if comp paid bills or wage benefits
• Any hospital lien or billing claim tied to treatment

If the wreck was on I-77 near Charleston in fog, sun glare, or truck traffic and your employee went to CAMC, the bills can get big fast. Big bills mean bigger lien fights.

3. Do the math before you call any offer "good."

Raw truth: the settlement is not "what the insurer offers." It is what is left after attorney fees, case costs, and valid liens. A $100,000 settlement can turn into a much smaller net if Medicare wants $18,000, workers' comp wants $22,000, and the health plan asserts reimbursement.

4. The smarter move is settle only after lien reduction is on the table.

Liens are often negotiable. Medicare can update and sometimes reduce its demand. Medicaid and comp reimbursement issues can also be challenged or trimmed depending on what was paid and what the settlement covers. If you settle first and ask questions later, you lose leverage.

5. Don't wait so long that the deadline or policy pressure traps you.

Waiting is smarter than guessing, but not forever. If the 2-year filing deadline is getting close, file the claim and keep working the liens. That protects the case while the reimbursement numbers get sorted.