On Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, a deer jumps out near Hanes Mall Boulevard, you swerve, and the next bill is from Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center or Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Your ER bill does not wait for the insurance claim to finish.

Before you know that, the situation feels backwards: the hospital bills you, not the deer, and not automatically the truck's insurer.

What changes once you know how North Carolina pays these bills is this:

If you were driving for work - for example, traveling between clinics, home-health visits, or campuses - workers' compensation may become the primary payer. In North Carolina, an employer generally must carry workers' comp if it has 3 or more employees. Medical treatment for a compensable work injury is paid at 100% if it is authorized, and wage-loss benefits can start after a 7-day waiting period.

If you were not on the clock, your immediate payers are usually:

• Health insurance
• MedPay on your own auto policy, if you bought it
• Your own pocket until reimbursement later

The truck's insurance usually does not pay your ER bill up front. It pays only through a later settlement or judgment, and North Carolina's contributory negligence rule is harsh: if you are found even 1% at fault, you can be barred from recovering from the other driver.

That matters in a deer crash. If the truck driver did nothing wrong, there may be no liability claim at all. If the truck was speeding, following too closely, or unsafe in a school zone or reduced-visibility area, that can change value and reimbursement later.

North Carolina's minimum auto liability limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage. If you have UM/UIM or MedPay, those coverages can matter more than the truck's policy in a wildlife-triggered crash.

If a settlement comes later, health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, or workers' comp can seek reimbursement before you see the full amount.