What is the primary cause of personal bankruptcy?

An accident or a terrifying diagnosis can happen at any time to anyone. The cost of medical care can be very high, especially if ongoing care for a medical condition is required.

If you haven't guessed by now, medical bills are the number one cause of personal bankruptcy. In an effort to pay these bills, millions of people have maxed out their credit cards, depleted their savings accounts and even taken out a second mortgage. Unfortunately, many people will still have little choice but to file for personal bankruptcy because of their medical bills.

Here are some interesting statistics put together by NerdWallet about how much medical bills can strain the financial standing of people across the country. These numbers are what they estimated would occur in the year 2013.

-- Trouble paying medical bills will be a problem for 56 million Americans who are under 65 years old.

-- Medical bills will force 1.7 million American households into bankruptcy.

-- Medical bills will cause almost 10 million adults between the ages of 19 and 64 to be unable to pay for food, heat and rent.

-- Out of every five bankruptcies, three will be due to unpaid medical bills.

-- Twenty-five percent of bankruptcies due to medical bills will be located in three states: California, Illinois and Florida.

NerdWallet's Vice President of Health says that 10 million Americans will not be able to pay their medical bills, even though they have insurance.

As you can see, medical bills are very common, but they can ruin someone financially. There are options available, including bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney can explain your options and help you get back on the right tracl financially.

Source: nerdwallet.com, "NerdWallet Health finds Medical Bankruptcy accounts for majority of personal bankruptcies," Christina LaMontagne, accessed April. 09, 2015