In Washington, some lien fights can play out differently because of broader insurance rules. In Idaho, your brother needs to assume the settlement check is not all his money and sort out who has a claim to it before he signs anything.

Before he knows this, a $25,000 offer can look like $25,000 in his pocket after a Lewiston crash from spring frost heaves or deteriorated pavement. After he knows it, he treats that number like a pie that may already have slices promised away.

The usual people who may get paid first are:

• Medicare, if Medicare paid crash-related bills
• Idaho Medicaid through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
• His health insurer, if the policy has a reimbursement or subrogation clause
• A hospital or provider with a valid lien
• His lawyer, if he has a fee agreement

What changes right now is this: he should demand an itemized lien list and a copy of any claimed lien or reimbursement right before accepting the offer. Medicare claims are handled through the Benefits Coordination & Recovery Center, and they can keep charging condition-related bills unless the case is reported correctly. Idaho Medicaid also seeks repayment from third-party recoveries.

If St. Joseph Regional Medical Center or another provider treated him, check whether a hospital lien was properly filed under Idaho law. A provider does not automatically get whatever it says it is owed just because treatment happened.

If the wreck involved a bad road on a City of Lewiston street or an Idaho Transportation Department roadway, do not let the settlement issue distract from the separate deadline problem: injury claims against Idaho government entities usually require a tort claim notice within 180 days.

Before knowing this, he risks signing away the case and discovering later that Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance still wants money.

After knowing it, he pauses, gets the liens verified, and figures out the real net amount before giving up the claim.