If you’ve been hurt at work, the last thing you want to deal with while you’re recovering from an injury and not collecting a paycheck is a medical bill that arrives in your mailbox. You may have assumed that your company or their insurance provider would handle these, but now you’re being told that you owe hundreds or even thousands of dollars because of the care you received after a work injury. How should you handle this situation? In today’s blog, we explain what you should do if you keep receiving medical bills related to a work accident.
Who Pays Medical Bills After A Work Injury?
Under the law, medical expenses that are incurred as a result of a work injury are supposed to go to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider. In fact, healthcare groups can be fined if they knowingly send medical bills to an individual despite being told that the care the patient received was the result of a work injury. Minnesota law states that a company can be fined $1,000 for sending medical bills to an employee when they have been told that they are to be directed to an insurance company, and that fine can double to $2,000 if the employee ends up paying the bill. Penalties increase for subsequent violations, and the company will be required to pay the patient back with interest in the event that a wrongfully issued bill was paid by the patient.
To avoid receiving medical bills in the mail after a work injury, we advise that you inform the healthcare facility on arrival that you are being treated for a work-related injury. Provide your employer information and any other details they request. It’s also helpful to mention that you are being seen for a work injury to any nurses or doctors who provide treatment so that there’s no question that this information has been conveyed to them.
However, it’s still possible that you will receive a medical bill in the mail for care you received for your work injury. Here’s what you should do:
- Contact the healthcare facility’s billing department and inform them you have been billed for a work-related injury and that your employer’s workers’ compensation provider was supposed to be billed for. They will likely reissue a bill to the employer or have you provide some additional information.
- Do not throw out the bill, and do not pay it. Save it for your records and make a physical or digital copy of it for future reference.
- Connect with your workers’ compensation attorney and let them know you are receiving medical bills for your work injury. They will likely want a copy for their records.
This should ensure that the original bill is resubmitted to the correct authority and that no future bills come to your house. However, your lawyer will be able to provide you with personalized advice given your unique scenario. If the insurance company is contesting benefits, your attorney will help build a case to showcase their liability and earn compensation for lost wages and medical expenses.
In the event you paid the bill but now realize it was an insurance company’s responsibility, contact your lawyer. They will include these expenses in a workers’ compensation claim and will work to get you reimbursed from the insurance company. It may take some time, but if you have a valid workers’ compensation claim, you will be reimbursed if you include those paid medical expenses on your claim.
Don’t let the insurance company take advantage of you because you are unfamiliar with the system. Connect with a lawyer, keep records of all bills and expenses related to your injury case and inform the healthcare provider that bills should be directed to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider. For assistance navigating these situations or another aspect of a workers’ compensation claim, connect with the team at Hey Workers today at (844) 439-9675.
