What Is Durable Medical Equipment (DME) in a Personal Injury Case?

James Wong — Founder & Pharmacist, LienScripts | March 28, 2024 | 7 min read

After an accident, your doctor may order durable medical equipment — a back brace, knee brace, cervical collar, or TENS unit. These items can be provided on a lien, meaning you pay nothing upfront and the cost is resolved from your settlement. Here's what counts as DME, how it works in PI cases, and how it coordinates with a pharmacy lien for medications.

What Is Durable Medical Equipment?

Durable medical equipment — DME — refers to medical devices and equipment that are prescribed by a physician, designed for repeated use, and used in the treatment of a medical condition. In personal injury cases, DME is used to support, protect, or assist the healing of injured body parts.

The word "durable" is the key distinction: unlike single-use supplies, DME is intended to be used over a period of time. A cervical collar worn for weeks after a neck injury is DME. A single-use bandage is not.

[!KEY] Durable medical equipment prescribed after an accident — braces, TENS units, mobility aids — can be provided on a lien at zero upfront cost, with payment deferred to settlement just like pharmacy medications.

Common DME After an Accident

Personal injury cases — particularly vehicle accidents — involve a fairly predictable range of DME, depending on the injuries:

Cervical Collars and Neck Braces

After rear-end collisions and accidents that produce cervical strain or instability, doctors often prescribe soft or rigid cervical collars. The collar limits range of motion during the acute inflammatory phase, reduces the mechanical load on injured cervical structures, and provides proprioceptive support to the healing neck musculature.

Lumbar Supports and Back Braces

Low back injuries — lumbar strain, disc herniation, compression fractures — are among the most common injuries in vehicle accidents. Lumbar supports and back braces reduce the mechanical load on the lumbar spine during activities of daily living, particularly movements that would otherwise stress the injured structures. They're commonly prescribed alongside physical therapy for back injury cases.

Knee Braces

Accidents involving lower extremity injury — from bracing for impact, from direct contact during the collision, or from pedestrian or cyclist injuries — frequently produce knee ligament strain or tears. Knee braces provide stability and limit the range of motion that would stress the healing ligament.

TENS Units

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation units deliver low-level electrical current through electrode pads placed on the skin. The electrical stimulation provides non-pharmacological pain relief through gate control mechanisms — it's often described as interrupting the pain signal before it reaches the brain. TENS units are particularly useful as a non-medication option for patients who need pain management between treatment visits and prefer to minimize medication use.

Wrist Splints and Ankle Supports

Upper and lower extremity injuries from accidents — wrist fractures, carpal tunnel aggravated by trauma, ankle sprains, and Achilles tendon injuries — are managed with splints and supports that protect the injured structures during healing.

Crutches, Walkers, and Canes

When lower extremity injury impairs the ability to walk safely, mobility aids are prescribed for the recovery period. These may be short-term during the acute phase following fracture or surgery, or longer-term when significant functional limitation persists.

How DME Works on a Lien

Like other lien-based care in personal injury cases, DME on lien means you receive the equipment you need immediately — without paying anything upfront — and the cost is resolved from your settlement.

Here's how the process typically works:

1. Your treating physician evaluates your injury and determines that DME is medically necessary
2. The physician writes an order for the specific equipment
3. A DME provider who operates on a lien basis supplies the equipment
4. You sign a lien agreement stating that the DME provider will be paid from your settlement proceeds
5. When your case settles, the DME lien is paid from the settlement along with your other medical liens

You never receive a bill that you have to pay out of pocket. The DME provider is compensated from your eventual settlement recovery.

Does Insurance Cover DME After an Accident?

Standard health insurance may cover some DME, but coverage typically requires prior authorization — and prior authorization takes time. After an accident, you may not have time to wait for an insurance company to approve equipment that your doctor says you need now.

When the accident was caused by someone else's negligence, you may be directed to pursue the at-fault party's insurance — which may dispute the claim or delay processing while liability is being determined.

DME on lien eliminates this delay. You get the equipment your doctor ordered immediately, without waiting for insurance approval or paying out of pocket.

[!KEY] A physician who prescribes both DME and medications for the same injury is documenting a treatment plan with multiple components — when both are provided through lien arrangements, the demand package can present a complete, consistent picture of the prescribed care rather than a partial one.

[!NOTE] Many patients who receive DME on a lien don't know their prescription medications can be covered the same way — a pharmacy lien through LienScripts covers the drugs that work alongside the brace or support device, also at zero upfront cost.

DME and Pharmacy: Two Pieces of the Same Treatment Plan

The equipment your doctor prescribes and the medications your doctor prescribes are both part of the same treatment plan — but they're supplied through different channels and covered through different lien arrangements.

Your cervical collar or back brace comes from a DME provider who holds a DME lien. Your prescriptions — the muscle relaxants that address the spasm the brace is supporting, the anti-inflammatory medications that address the swelling the brace is protecting — come through a pharmacy lien.

LienScripts provides pharmacy lien coverage for the prescription medications prescribed alongside your DME at no cost to you, resolved at settlement. The medications that work with your brace or support — muscle relaxants like cyclobenzaprine, anti-inflammatory medications like meloxicam, or nerve pain medications like gabapentin for radiculopathy — can all be covered through the pharmacy lien.

[!KEY] DME and the medications prescribed alongside it are part of the same treatment plan but separate lien arrangements — failing to cover both means that half the prescribed treatment plan is documented and half isn't, creating an artificial gap that understates the injury's scope.

Many patients who receive DME on lien don't realize their medications can be covered the same way. If you're receiving DME for accident injuries and paying out of pocket for your prescriptions, there may be a better option.

Getting Started

If you've been in an accident and your doctor has recommended DME, talk to your attorney about whether pharmacy lien coverage through LienScripts makes sense for your prescriptions. The enrollment process is straightforward and can typically be set up quickly.

Visit how it works to understand the pharmacy lien process, or check frequently asked questions for common questions about pharmacy lien coverage. If your attorney isn't already familiar with LienScripts, they can find information at for attorneys.