The costs for an injured worker to recover from a work-related accident may quickly add up. As you might imagine, this is a potentially trying period. Rehabilitation after a life-threatening workplace injury is arduous. When medical expenses mount, the situation may become even more stressful.
If you’ve been hurt on the job, you need someone to fight for your rights and ensure you get the compensation you’re owed. However, you shouldn’t put your faith in your company or the workers’ compensation insurance company they use. Employers and their insurance companies have to weigh your needs against their own financial limitations, and sometimes the latter wins.
No matter where you are in the workers’ compensation procedure, our knowledgeable lawyers at the Law Offices of William F. Underwood, III, P.C. can manage every step of the way. If your insurance provider is being unreliable, delaying payments, or refusing to cover a necessary procedure, we can act as your advocates and get things resolved as quickly as possible. We will fight for every dollar you deserve, whether it’s for a well-known benefit like mileage reimbursement, a lesser-known one like late payment penalties, or a less-publicized one like compensation for scars. We will also represent you at informal, preliminary, and final hearings. If necessary, we will ask for urgent hearings to make sure that your case doesn’t have to wait for justice.
Do All Work-Related Injuries Have Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
The scope of workers’ compensation is often unclear to those who are eligible for it. If you are hurt on the job in Georgia, chances are good that workers’ compensation will pay for it. Your medical expenses should be paid by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance as long as you can prove that you are a qualified employee who was injured on the job.
Remember that not all injuries sustained on the job take place on the job. Your injuries are deemed work-related if they occurred while you were doing a job-related task, such as, for instance, traveling to run an errand.
However, a workplace injury is not always a work-related injury, even if it happens there. Your injuries probably wouldn’t be regarded as work-related if you were hurt on the job, even if they occurred on company property during a break. Similarly, if you were injured in a drive-thru accident while stopping for coffee on the way to or from a work-related errand, you could not be covered by workers’ compensation.
It is possible for an employer to dispute an employee’s right to compensation for an on-the-job injury if the employee was engaged in misconduct at the time of the accident. Horseplay, working while inebriated, and other illegal or risky pursuits fall under this category.
Medical Payments under Workers’ Compensation
Each and every worker’s comp case requires medical care, and each and every doctor, hospital, and clinic has their own fees. But if the injury happened at work, the insurance company is responsible for paying for any medical care that is needed.
It would be best if you didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket after a work-related accident, and that includes your share of the tab for any co-pays, deductibles, or other costs that were covered by your insurance. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will pay for any approved medical care, such as prescription drugs and diagnostic tests.
If a medical doctor suggests a certain therapy, the insurance company usually has to cover it or take some kind of action to dispute or reject the recommendation. Treatment need, reasonableness, and connection to harm are common points of contention. An internal medical reviewer conducts a “utilization review” when problems arise with a patient’s prescription drug. The lawyers at the Law Offices of William F. Underwood, III, P.C. are experts in getting insurance companies to cover medical expenses, even those that are in dispute.
Other medical Treatment-Related Payments
Insurance companies are obligated to cover the cost of transportation to and from medical and therapeutic appointments. The mileage reimbursement rate varies annually and is determined by the date of the injury. All reasonable transportation costs incurred by the injured employee to and from their medical visits will be covered by this compensation. If the injured worker is not receiving workers’ compensation funds, then any time off work for medical visits must be compensated for. The time spent getting to and from doctor’s visits counts against missed work hours. And lastly, if getting to and from your doctor’s visits is “medically essential,” your insurer is obligated to pay for a cab or ambulance ride.
Workplace Injuries Representation with Experience
The Law Offices of William F. Underwood, III, P.C. is the firm to call if you need help with a workers’ compensation claim or bills after work injury. Our lawyers will try to get your medical bills, lost wages from missing work to attend doctor’s appointments, transportation costs (both to and from the doctor’s office), and any other related costs covered by your insurance provider. Our lawyers will pursue your claims to the fullest extent of the law if the insurance company disputes or refuses to pay these fees. Insurance companies will not inform you what expenses are covered or provide you with the paperwork you need to get your money back. When you choose the Law Offices of William F. Underwood, III, P.C., we will fight for every penny you deserve. Feel free to contact us at 229-218-2346 to schedule a no-cost consultation with a member of our experienced legal team and explore the specifics of your potential claim.
