The lien provided for in § 8.01-66.2 shall be of inferior dignity to the claim or lien of the attorney of such injured person or of his personal representative for professional services for representing such injured person or his personal representative in his claim or suit for damages for such personal injuries.
§ 8.01-66.3.Lien inferior to claim of attorney or personal representative.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 7.1. Lien for Hospital, Medical and Nursing Services · Last amended 1979 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-66.3 ranks the medical and hospital lien created by § 8.01-66.2 below the injured person’s attorney’s claim or lien for professional services in the same personal injury claim or suit.
Full Text of § 8.01-66.3
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-66.3 sets the priority between two competing claims on the same recovery. The lien provided for in § 8.01-66.2 — the hospital, physician, nurse, physical therapist, pharmacy, or emergency medical services lien — is of inferior dignity to the claim or lien of the attorney representing the injured person or the personal representative in the underlying personal injury claim or suit.
In practical terms, the attorney’s claim for professional services comes first, ahead of the medical and hospital liens, when the recovery is being divided up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who gets paid first out of a settlement — the hospital or the attorney?
The attorney’s claim or lien for professional services comes first. Section 8.01-66.3 makes the § 8.01-66.2 medical and hospital lien inferior to the attorney’s claim.
Does this priority apply to every provider’s lien under § 8.01-66.2?
Yes. Whether the lien belongs to a hospital, nursing home, physician, nurse, physical therapist, pharmacy, or emergency medical services provider, it ranks below the attorney’s claim or lien for representing the injured person.
Why would an attorney’s claim outrank a hospital’s lien?
The statute reflects that the attorney’s work is what produces the recovery the medical liens attach to in the first place — without the attorney’s services in pursuing the claim or suit, there may be no recovery for the liens to reach.
Does this section apply only to attorneys representing the injured person directly?
It covers the attorney representing the injured person or that person’s personal representative in the claim or suit for damages for the personal injuries.
Is this the only priority rule among liens under this article?
No. Other sections in this article, including § 8.01-66.9, set separate priority rules among different kinds of liens, particularly where the Commonwealth or its programs hold a lien.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 32-139; 1979, c. 722.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: attorney lien priority over hospital lien virginia8.01-66.3 virginia codemedical lien inferior to attorney fee virginialien priority personal injury settlement virginiavirginia hospital lien subordinate attorney claim