How Do Hospitals Violate Fair Debt Laws for Injured Workers?

Workers’ compensation benefits cover all reasonably necessary medical bills, and job injury victims aren’t financially responsible for unpaid charges. Nevertheless, hospitals often violate fair debt laws by attempting to collect medical bills from injured workers. These violations often occur due to misunderstandings of workers’ compensation rules, aggressive billing practices, or failure to properly coordinate with insurers. Both federal and state fair debt laws protect injured workers from improper collection activity.

Usually, an “accidental” violation of a state or federal fair debt collection law is a violation nonetheless. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If a medical provider violates the law, even non-maliciously, a Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer holds that provider responsible for its actions or inactions. The compensation a lawyer obtains sets things right for the victim and encourages providers to change the way they do business.

Direct Billing

Many hospitals label workers’ compensation victims as uninsured patients, since they usually don’t present insurance information at the time of treatment. That misunderstanding is understandable and illegal.

If hospitals ignore the workers’ compensation rules and send bills, collection notices, or account statements directly to injured workers, they’re attempting to collect a debt that the worker does not legally owe. Under fair debt laws, attempting to collect a debt that is not valid or legally enforceable is deceptive and unfair behavior.

Adverse Information Reports

If job injury victims don’t pay these bills, and they shouldn’t, providers often refer the matters to collection agencies, even if a Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer hasn’t yet resolved the matter.

Fair debt laws prohibit the use of false or misleading representations, including implying that a consumer is delinquent on a debt when liability is undetermined. When hospitals place these accounts into collections or report them as unpaid before a workers’ compensation claim is resolved, injured workers may suffer credit damage for debts they are not responsible for, potentially violating both federal and state consumer protection statutes.

Improper Communication and Harassment

This unlawful behavior includes repeated phone calls, threatening letters, or contacting injured workers’ employers in ways that could jeopardize employment. Making matters worse, some hospitals or their collection agents may pressure workers to pay immediately, even after being informed that the injury is work-related and covered by workers’ compensation.

Misrepresentation

Many creditors, including medical creditors, will say almost anything to collect a debt. They often illegally threaten to garnish wages or deny future medical care.

Debt buyers need court judgements to garnish wages. Moreover, debt buyers cannot cut off medical treatment. Only physicians can do that.

Since many people don’t know their rights and these threats sound so official, fair debt laws strictly prohibit false threats or deceptive representations in collection efforts.

No Debt Validation Notice

This unfair practice is common in all areas, not just medical debt. But providers that don’t normally deal with unpaid accounts are especially guilty of not sending validation notices.

Injured workers have the right to receive clear information about the amount owed, the creditor, and the right to dispute the debt. When hospitals or their collection agencies bypass these requirements, they undermine the worker’s legal protections with what amounts to a vague “pay or else” ultimatum.

Connect With a Thorough Hillsborough County Attorney

Injury victims need and deserve substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in Tampa, contact Kobal Law. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0559/Sections/0559.72.html