Injured at work, should I bill my employer?

[tony5412]

I don't want to get too specific but it required an emergency room visit and stitches. I received a couple of bills (so far) and the total is approximately $250. One bill was actually over $1100 (for emergency eval and services) but I received a large "uninsured discount" of approx $900 even though I do have health insurance. Maybe they did not charge insurance because I told them it happened at work.

Anyway, I have had people tell me I should go to my employer and have them pay for it. I did report the injury to my employer but did not miss any time off of work. Should I push to have them pay for it or just pay it and be done with it? It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

[daheld]

It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

Based off this, no.

[jpelder]

Your employer should have some kind of workman's compensation policy. Speak to HR, and document everything

[BarbBrooklyn]

I think you need to file a worker's comp claim. Hospital should bill employer's worker's comp policy.

[Shallowpockets]

If it happened on the job, there must be some sort of reporting form. Am incident report.
When you went to the ER you should have had info from your employer on how to report it to the ER and have it billed that way.

[tony5412]

If it happened on the job, there must be some sort of reporting form. Am incident report.
When you went to the ER you should have had info from your employer on how to report it to the ER and have it billed that way.

I did fill out an incident report but they didn't give me any info regarding that.

[tony5412]

Your employer should have some kind of workman's compensation policy. Speak to HR, and document everything

You're right, I should speak to HR, just didn't want to come across as if I am trying to take advantage of the company.

[RickBoglehead]

This is clearly something that workmen's comp is designed to handle, and they should have been all over it. Go back to them. It has nothing to do with negligence - if you are injured on the job, that's what their workmen's compensation insurance is for.

[123]

In most states the cost of medical care for work-related injuries is entirely borne by the employer involved. Usually you identify the name of the employer and that it's a work injury and the provider bills the employer directly. The employer, or their insurance, often pays the full "rack rate" for such services so medical providers love workers compensation situations in most states and love to bill the employer directly.

Don't worry about "taking advantage" of the company. The workers compensation laws limit what employers have to pay and often prevent the employee from litigation beyond the remedies provided in the state workers compensation law. There is often little protection for workers who do their jobs diligently yet get injured because the employer was trying to save money by understaffing or failing to establish and enfore safety protocols. Someone who was a contractor for the same company may have a lot more legal options.

[chevca]

Your employer should have some kind of workman's compensation policy. Speak to HR, and document everything

You're right, I should speak to HR, just didn't want to come across as if I am trying to take advantage of the company.

I admire your morals and ethics here. But, you're not taking advantage nor pushing anything at work. The accident happened at work. Work covers that sort of thing. As others have said workers comp, L&I, and all came about just for this sort of thing. This sort of thing is what its all there for. Go through your employer.

[anonenigma]

Perhaps more to the point, your insurance will not cover accidents/injuries incurred at work. You have no choice but to file workers comp unless you want to pay everything yourself.

[michaeljc70]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

[Katietsu]

The way the workmen comp rules and health insurance rules work, you should have the company pay. And no reasonable employer would hold this against you. If you started to claim questionable additional expenses, that might raise an eyebrow. Or if you have had other workmen comp claims, that could be a red flag.

[fru-gal]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

What stigma. This is what worker's comp is for.

Trot over to hr, say you heard workers comp would pay the bills, and go from there.

[DesertDiva]

Perhaps more to the point, your insurance will not cover accidents/injuries incurred at work. You have no choice but to file workers comp unless you want to pay everything yourself.

+1

[surveyor]

As an employer, I want you to do this through workman's comp. The exact injury and remedy is documented.

[HomeStretch]

Agree with other posts that you should follow-up on your work place incident report with your HR group to make HR aware of the medical claims and how you should be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket costs.

Your employer should have already reported this incident report to their insurer and should cover your medical expenses under their worker’s compensation coverage. For any medical payments you have already made, you likely will receive a letter from your health insurer asking whether the injury was received in a workplace (or vehicle) incident. If so, the health insurer will pursue reimbursement from your company’s worker’s compensation insurer.

[RickBoglehead]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

[TropikThunder]

As an employer, I want you to do this through workman's comp. The exact injury and remedy is documented.

And it (appropriately) limits future liability in cases where the injured worker is somewhat less noble than the OP.

[michaeljc70]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

[BlueCable]

This absolutely needs to be filled for Workman's Comp.

[Gnirk]

This is definitely a Workman's Comp claim, and those bills should all be covered as long as you reported it to your employer. I'm surprised the hospital didn't ask you to complete forms claiming Workman's Comp. Although things may have changed regarding the forms since I was in the workforce .

[tony5412]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

I was thinking along the same lines. For the record, it's a large corporation and not a small company.

[tony5412]

This is definitely a Workman's Comp claim, and those bills should all be covered as long as you reported it to your employer. I'm surprised the hospital didn't ask you to complete forms claiming Workman's Comp. Although things may have changed regarding the forms since I was in the workforce .

One thing I noticed is that the original number on the bill was like $1100, and there was a $900 "non-insurance discount" applied, even though I did give the ER my insurance information.

[tony5412]

Thanks for the replies. I don't feel so bad now. This was my first work-related injury so I wasn't sure how to handle.

[Big Jim24]

Workers' Comp insurance coverage varies by state. In most states (of not all), it's no-fault. File a claim, and you should get reimbursed. The process is pretty simple for what you have.

What state are you in?

[Mr. Rumples]

State laws are very specific about what to do and can vary and might change from year to year. You have an obligation as does your employer. You can find your state's worker's compensation agency/commission by googling it. Here is what the Va. Workers Compensation Commission (Commission) requires:

http://www.vwc.state.va.us/sites/defaul ... -Guide.pdf

Note that in Va., not sure about other states, the employer and employee must by law notify the Commission. If the employee doesn't, the employee looses benefits. The employer who is notified of an injury but doesn't notify the Commission faces a penalty of $250 per day it goes unreported with a maximum fine of $50,000. Most injuries are covered, even "freak" accidents caused by negligence or strange events, though some might not be. (I can clearly recall an employee slashing his wrists in the restroom, that was not covered, albeit it was reported; it was paid for by his health insurance.)

For an employer, this is par for the course and part of owning and operating a business. These laws have been on the books for a century now.

They should have advised you of what to do and really its not up to you or them to determine their liability, that's what the Commission is for - at least in Va.

[adamthesmythe]

I think you need to file a worker's comp claim. Hospital should bill employer's worker's comp policy.

Workmen's comp, and working through the system at your employer, is the way you "ask" for compensation.

[Watty]

You did the right thing by reporting it and documenting it with your employer. One potential problem is that what seems like a minor injury that might only need a few stitches could have complications like an infection or nerve damage. Trying to report that a few months after the accident could be difficult since the employer(and their lawyers and insurance company) could claim the the injury happened off the job and frankly there are people that would try to do that to make a bogus workmans comp claim.

When you went to the ER one of the forms likely asked if it was work related which you should have answered as "yes".

A likely result will be that your normal insurance will not pay their part and tell you to file a workman's comp claim. I have heard of this happening even when there was a significant injury.

In the case that I know about it became a mess because the workman comp was a different insurance company that wanted the person to use their doctors once he was out of the hospital. They were were not only sub par but the person could not even get an appointment with one for several weeks which would have made the injury even worse if it was left untreated that long.

I never heard how that was resolved but I suspect that the person had to get a lawyer involved just to get good care once he was out of the ER

[MarkerFM]

If you had worked for one of my companies (smaller) when I owned them, reporting an accident would result in us paying for your medical bills and giving you time off if needed for minor injuries, but we would avoid doing it through worker's comp. The rates we paid were just ridiculous and any claim would raise them further. Thankfully, we had almost no injuries during the 15 years I owned the companies.

[Trader Joe]

I don't want to get too specific but it required an emergency room visit and stitches. I received a couple of bills (so far) and the total is approximately $250. One bill was actually over $1100 (for emergency eval and services) but I received a large "uninsured discount" of approx $900 even though I do have health insurance. Maybe they did not charge insurance because I told them it happened at work.

Anyway, I have had people tell me I should go to my employer and have them pay for it. I did report the injury to my employer but did not miss any time off of work. Should I push to have them pay for it or just pay it and be done with it? It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

Yes, you should continuously communicate with and update your Human Resources department.

[toofache32]

This is definitely a Workman's Comp claim, and those bills should all be covered as long as you reported it to your employer. I'm surprised the hospital didn't ask you to complete forms claiming Workman's Comp. Although things may have changed regarding the forms since I was in the workforce .

One thing I noticed is that the original number on the bill was like $1100, and there was a $900 "non-insurance discount" applied, even though I did give the ER my insurance information.

Was the facility in-network with your insurance?

[fru-gal]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

Do give us an example. I look forward with interest to seeing an article about a employer suing an employee for filing for worker's comp.

[smitcat]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

Agreed - workers comp is exactly for this and the amount of claim in dollars (if any) has nothing to do with it. It is important to follow through with the accident claim previously filed with any medical bills so they can be handled properly.
There is no 'retaliation' with these claims.

[michaeljc70]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

Do give us an example. I look forward with interest to seeing an article about a employer suing an employee for filing for worker's comp.

That's the opposite of what I said. The employer discriminates against the employee that filed by firing them, not promoting them, smaller raises, different duties, not following doctors orders after the incident to adjust duties, etc. If you Google "lawsuit workers compensation retaliation" you will get over a million hits.

Given additional information from the OP that this is a large employer and the nature of the claim I wouldn't be worried about filing. Worker's comp costs can kill a Mom and Pop business and often the employer would rather pay a small claim (like the $250 in this case) rather than file a claim. I am surprised that people cannot put themselves in that situation. If I have a small thing with my house or car I don't run and file a claim even though "that is what the insurance is there for".

[Mr. Rumples]

In Virginia (Code Section 65.2 - 101 et. seq.) all worker's comp. claims must be reported to the Commission. The penalty for not doing so is $250 day day after the employer is notified with a maximum penalty of $50,000. In Virginia, not sure about other states, once the claim is filed, the employer is immune from civil suits resulting from the incident; the employer doesn't have to worry about the employee coming back later saying they are disabled. The benefit to employees is various, but one is that the benefit is immune from creditors except for child support.

An employer needs to be very careful. Not filing might be considered fraud which raises the risk of audits from various federal and state agencies. Over 30 states have fraud units investigating worker's comp. Employer fraud can range from having health insurance pick up a claim instead of workman's comp. to laying off the injured employee, not submitting the claim and so forth. Of course, employee fraud is an issue too, we had a manager who had an approved claim, think it was her back, but was seen by an investigator working at a convenience store on the night shift. She was fired and I assume, but not sure the benefits were reclaimed by the Commonwealth.

[littlebird]

In Virginia, not sure about other states, once the claim is filed, the employer is immune from civil suits resulting from the incident.

Yes. This - in addition to compensating employees for injury - is one of the purposes of Worker’s Compensation laws. Not following them leaves the employer vulnerable to potential catastrophic liability.

[smitcat]

For $250, I wouldn't. Unless there is a chance that this injury could lead to something more serious. It is just not worth the effort and potential stigma it could bring.

This is really bad advice. Workmen's compensation protects the company and the worker. There is no "stigma", and comments like this are inappropriate.

I think you are being naive and ignoring small employers and human nature. There are lawsuits for retaliation all the time. Of course it is illegal to retaliate in most states.

Do give us an example. I look forward with interest to seeing an article about a employer suing an employee for filing for worker's comp.

That's the opposite of what I said. The employer discriminates against the employee that filed by firing them, not promoting them, smaller raises, different duties, not following doctors orders after the incident to adjust duties, etc. If you Google "lawsuit workers compensation retaliation" you will get over a million hits.

Given additional information from the OP that this is a large employer and the nature of the claim I wouldn't be worried about filing. Worker's comp costs can kill a Mom and Pop business and often the employer would rather pay a small claim (like the $250 in this case) rather than file a claim. I am surprised that people cannot put themselves in that situation. If I have a small thing with my house or car I don't run and file a claim even though "that is what the insurance is there for".

"Worker's comp costs can kill a Mom and Pop business and often the employer would rather pay a small claim (like the $250 in this case) rather than file a claim. I am surprised that people cannot put themselves in that situation."
We are a small business and that is the last thing we would do - I am surprised that anyone would think any other way.

[TBillT]

A couple issues here.

I worked for big company under OSHA scrutinty and all accidents no matter how minor (paper cuts) basically had to be reported. No wiggle room.

Also though ( I fell once on my community jog path) and I submiited Xrays to my insurance comany, They asked me if this happened on somene elses property, and I had to say by gosh yes it did. So the HOA paid the bills in the end, and the cause was probably some lack of maintenance of the jog path.

[tony5412]

They should have advised you of what to do and really its not up to you or them to determine their liability, that's what the Commission is for - at least in Va.

They did not. I was asked to complete and accident report but was not told where to go from there. I will need to reach out to HR.

[tony5412]

I received a statement the other day form the health insurance company. They received the hospital bill and fully paid it.

The bill I received previously were from the doctor who was there at the time. They did not turn it into my insurance company. They did discount it heavily but I am still on the hook for 250 or so. So not only would worker's comp need to pay this but I guess they would also need to reimburse my health insurance company.

[jhfenton]

I was thinking along the same lines. For the record, it's a large corporation and not a small company.

I work for a mini-megacorp (S&P 600 company). We are self-insured for WC, and we are self-insured for health insurance. (There are backstops for catastrophic expenses.) Other than the exact paperwork involved, and the exact routing of payments, there is going to be no significant difference in cost to the company if you file a WC claim.

But it should definitely go through as a WC claim. I'm surprised it wasn't automatically steered in that direction after you reported the incident.

[Geneyus]

If it happened on the job, there must be some sort of reporting form. Am incident report.
When you went to the ER you should have had info from your employer on how to report it to the ER and have it billed that way.

I did fill out an incident report but they didn't give me any info regarding that.

If it was a work-related injury that required treatment at a third party facility, it is an OSHA recordable injury. The employer is required to provide you a copy of the injury report upon request. I just completed my OSHA 30 training.

It's great that you aren't the kind of person who wants to sue, but you should politely mention your medical bills and have them pay them.

[HomeStretch]

I received a statement the other day form the health insurance company. They received the hospital bill and fully paid it.

The bill I received previously were from the doctor who was there at the time. They did not turn it into my insurance company. They did discount it heavily but I am still on the hook for 250 or so. So not only would worker's comp need to pay this but I guess they would also need to reimburse my health insurance company.

No need to guess. Don’t pay anything. Take the bills to your HR group.

[anonenigma]

I received a statement the other day form the health insurance company. They received the hospital bill and fully paid it.

The bill I received previously were from the doctor who was there at the time. They did not turn it into my insurance company. They did discount it heavily but I am still on the hook for 250 or so. So not only would worker's comp need to pay this but I guess they would also need to reimburse my health insurance company.

Don't put yourself in the position of lying to your insurance company - they do send out queries about whether the injury happened at work.

Workers Comp needs to reimburse both you and the insurance company. Reimbursement of the insurance company is called subrogation.

Just went through this with my wife, who had a slip and fall at airport returning from a work trip.

[Mr. Rumples]

They should have advised you of what to do and really its not up to you or them to determine their liability, that's what the Commission is for - at least in Va.

They did not. I was asked to complete and accident report but was not told where to go from there. I will need to reach out to HR.

Every state is different. In Va. they are required to post this information. I see from the poster that the process has changed in the 10 years I was an administrator:

http://www.vec.virginia.gov/employers/R ... -Employers

http://www.workcomp.virginia.gov/sites/ ... rm-1_0.pdf

[fuddbogle]

I don't want to get too specific but it required an emergency room visit and stitches. I received a couple of bills (so far) and the total is approximately $250. One bill was actually over $1100 (for emergency eval and services) but I received a large "uninsured discount" of approx $900 even though I do have health insurance. Maybe they did not charge insurance because I told them it happened at work.

Anyway, I have had people tell me I should go to my employer and have them pay for it. I did report the injury to my employer but did not miss any time off of work. Should I push to have them pay for it or just pay it and be done with it? It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

I wish I would have seen this earlier, I've been in Safety/WC at the employer level for 25-years in a few different states.

Given you went to the ER, it's not uncommon for them to botch the billing. I get 5-10 a year where it's for a person I have no idea who it is or for a temp that is working at one of our locations. ER's do emergency treatment and for whatever reason, billing is tough for them to do correctly.

Simply visit your HR or Safety dept and find out if a work comp claim has been filed. It likely has, although you said you are in a large corp, they may be self-insured. Either way they should give you the proper information and then take the billing from you, work with the WC carrier (or their internal system) to get this taken care of. This happens. As a matter of fact, reading this, I remembered I owed a WC claim number to a medical provider I forget to send last week, so I got that sent off this morning, thanks

If you have any other issues, keep them coming. Your claim is quite simple and not all that uncommon for billing to get botched.

[dm200]

I don't want to get too specific but it required an emergency room visit and stitches. I received a couple of bills (so far) and the total is approximately $250. One bill was actually over $1100 (for emergency eval and services) but I received a large "uninsured discount" of approx $900 even though I do have health insurance. Maybe they did not charge insurance because I told them it happened at work.
Anyway, I have had people tell me I should go to my employer and have them pay for it. I did report the injury to my employer but did not miss any time off of work. Should I push to have them pay for it or just pay it and be done with it? It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

Seems to me this is workers compensation. I never had such an injury, but several coworkers over the years - none serious injuries.

Years ago, in the days of punch cards and BIG computer printouts, a programmer I worked with twisted his wrist opening a big printout listing at his desk. The Megacorp employer insisted that this be handled as a workers compensation claim.

[dm200]

I don't want to get too specific but it required an emergency room visit and stitches. I received a couple of bills (so far) and the total is approximately $250. One bill was actually over $1100 (for emergency eval and services) but I received a large "uninsured discount" of approx $900 even though I do have health insurance. Maybe they did not charge insurance because I told them it happened at work.

Anyway, I have had people tell me I should go to my employer and have them pay for it. I did report the injury to my employer but did not miss any time off of work. Should I push to have them pay for it or just pay it and be done with it? It was just a freak accident and there wasn't any negligence on their end.

Why would you pay as "uninsured" when you have insurance??

I suspect that the $1,100 bill would be much less if insurance was used.

[SmileyFace]

I am confused as to why you didn't go through your health insurance.
I would have simply gone through my health insurance and then ask my employer to pay all deductibles/co-pays/etc. If you want to tell your health insurance that this happened at work they can then work it out with your employer's workman's comp insurer on who should ultimately pay - but that's between them - not you.