Payment for Medical Treatment & Expenses After a Work Injury

After a workplace injury, you need someone who can advocate on your behalf and ensure you receive all the benefits to which you are entitled under law. Don’t rely on your employer or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer to fight for you, however. Employers and their insurers are responsible not only to you, but also to their own budgets – and this consideration can easily trump your needs.

At the Kocian Law Group, our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys can handle every task required to get the full amount of benefits to which you are entitled, no matter where you are in the process. We can advocate on your behalf with the insurance company, fighting for your benefits when checks are late or treatment is withheld. We can ensure you’re paid the full amount you’re owed, including little-known benefits like mileage payments or late-payment penalties, and benefits for losses like scarring. We’ll also fight for you at all levels of hearings [informal, pre-formal and formal] and can request expedited hearings in the case of an emergency so that justice is not delayed on your case. For a free initial consultation, contact the Kocian Law Group today.

Workers’ Compensation Medical Payments

All workers’ compensation cases involve medical treatment, and all medical providers charge for their services. In a workers’ compensation case, however, the insurance company must pay for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment resulting from work injuries.

After an injury at work, you should not receive bills for authorized medical treatment – including any bills for co-payments, deductibles, or write-offs. Bills for authorized treatment, prescription medication, and testing must be paid by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company, not by you.

In most instances, if a treating physician recommends a particular treatment, the insurer must either pay for the treatment or take definitive action to dispute or oppose the treatment. Issues often arise concerning what treatment is necessary, whether it is connected with the injury, and whether it is reasonable. Issues concerning prescription medications often involve a “utilization review,” in which an inside medical reviewer determines whether the medication is appropriate. Kocian Law Group attorneys are skilled in getting insurance companies to pay for treatment – including disputed treatment.

Payments for Other Costs Related to Medical Treatment

In addition to payment for medical bills, insurance companies must pay for mileage to and from medical appointments, including therapy. The mileage rate of reimbursement changes each year and is dependent upon the date of the injury. For example, injuries occurring in 2001 have a mileage reimbursement rate of 15 cents per mile, whereas injuries occurring in 2012 have a rate of 55 cents per mile. This reimbursement includes travel to and from all medical appointments for the injured worker. If the injured worker is required to take time off from work for travel to appointments, this time must also be reimbursed if the injured worker is not already collecting workers’ compensation payments. Time lost from the job includes travel time to and from medical appointments. Finally, if transportation is “medically required,” the insurance company must furnish a taxi or ambulance for travel to and from medical appointments.

Experienced Representation for Workplace Injuries

If you have a workers’ compensation claim, contact the Kocian Law Group. Attorneys at the Kocian Law Group will ensure that the insurance company pays for your medical expenses, time out of work for treatment at medical appointments, travel, mileage, medically necessary transportation, and prescription medications. If the insurance company disputes these costs or refuses to pay them, attorneys at the Kocian Law Group can pursue your claims to the fullest extent of the law. Do not expect the insurance company to tell you which costs can be reimbursed or even to supply you with the forms necessary to request reimbursement. At the Kocian Law Group, we can help get you every dollar to which you are entitled. Feel free to schedule an initial consultation to learn more about your legal rights.