Job Injuries and Medical Collections Notices
According to Florida law, workers’ compensation pays all reasonably necessary medical expenses. So, job injury and illness victims are not financially responsible for any unpaid charges. Therefore, if you were injured at work, saw a doctor, and received a bill, that bill is probably illegal under the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.
Additionally, the FCCPA includes a private right of action and authorizes punitive damages in these situations. If a medical provider or debt buyer sends a job injury or illness victim a bill, a Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer holds the billing party responsible for its illegal conduct. As outlined below, many hospitals accidentally send bills in these situations. Accidental or not, the bill is still illegal under Florida law.
How it Happens
Most providers use fee schedules for billing purposes, especially when they send bills to third-party payees, like workers’ compensation insurance companies. These companies, such as Travelers, The Hartford, AmTrust Financial, Zurich Insurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway, don’t normally provide group health insurance.
So, a clerk, who’s unfamiliar with state workers’ compensation laws, assumes the company is only responsible for the reduced amount and the individual is financially responsible for the remainder.
Assume John breaks his arm at work. He goes to a nearby ER, which treats his injury for the low, low price of $10,000. The insurance price on the fee schedule is $2,000. So, a clerk sends the insurance company a $2,000 bill and sends John an $8,000 bill.
This error may qualify as an “innocent mistake” in the minds of many people. But the law is very clear and it holds healthcare providers to a higher standard. Additionally, as John struggles to recover from his injury, the last thing he needs is an $8,000 doctor bill he cannot afford to pay.
Therefore, a Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer can hold the provider legally responsible for this billing error. Because the error was essentially consumer fraud, that responsibility is significant.
Additional Legal Protections
If the provider refers the matter to a collections agency, which will probably happen sooner rather than later, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies.
This federal law prohibits a long list of abusive, unfair, and deceptive bill collector practices. For instance, bill collectors are not allowed to call you at home before eight in the morning or after nine at night without your permission, and they can’t call you at work if you told them you can’t take personal calls there.
The list goes on. They can’t threaten legal action they are not really taking, publish your name on a list of deadbeats, contact your neighbors about your debt, repeatedly call to annoy and harass you, or use profanity or obscenities when they do talk to you. Also, if you tell them you have a lawyer, they must deal directly with your lawyer and not you.
What You Can Do
As mentioned, the Florida debt collection law includes a private right of action. So, instead of waiting for government bureaucrats to do something, double-billed individuals may take their cases to court.
A lawyer can do more than obtain damages. A lawyer can also remove erroneous late payment information from your credit report and truly make these victims whole.
Reach Out to a Diligent 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. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0559/Sections/0559.72.html
