Category Archives: Fair Debt
A Closer Look at Workers’ Comp and Fair Debt Violations
Work-related trauma injuries and occupational diseases are very difficult to recover from. Many care providers make this process even harder. They demand payment for medical services, even though the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act expressly prohibit such demands. Sadly, many job injury victims give into these demands, mostly… Read More »
Supreme Court Closes Fair Debt Practices Loophole
Affirming a lower court ruling, the Florida Supreme Court agreed that injured workers deserve additional protection from medical creditors. Two providers, Sheridan Radiology Services of Pinellas, Inc., a subsidiary of Sheridan Healthcare, Inc. (Sheridan);and Laboratory Corporation of America and Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings (Labcorp), treated a woman for work-related injuries. The workers’ compensation… Read More »
What Are ‘Reasonably Necessary’ Medical Bills?
This question is a little harder to answer in Florida than in some other states. Job injury victims don’t have the right to choose their own doctor in the Sunshine State. An insurance company or employer-provided doctor often has a much different view about what’s reasonably necessary than an independent physician. More on that… Read More »
Priciest Job Injury Diagnostic Tests
Diagnostic tests are perhaps the most important and most expensive part of job injury medical treatment. Uninsured patients usually pay inflated prices for these tests, while insured patients, including workers’ comp patients, receive substantial discounts. Frequently, providers try to bill job injury victims for the difference between the inflated and discounted price. This technique… Read More »
Your Rights Under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
In several recent cases, most notably 2017’s Midland Funding vs. Johnson, the Supreme Court has diluted some parts of the FDCPA. However, for the most part, the rights consumers have under this Act are still the same. These rights are especially important to job injury victims in Florida. Technically, medical providers cannot contact job… Read More »
What You Should Know About Medical Debt And Workers’ Compensation
Since the end of the Great Recession, fees for medical services have increased dramatically. At the same time, the Supreme Court has removed some important protections from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In other words, job-related injury and illness bills are higher than ever. And, providers are more aggressive than ever when it… Read More »
