Payment of Medical Bills After a Work Injury

Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday sponsored by the Law Firm QuatriniRafferty. I’m Mike Routch, and I’m going to talk today about payment of medical bills after a work injury. Often when someone is hurt at work, the employer or its insurance carrier will pay medical bills without formally accepting the work injury. While this may not be too significant for minor injuries, it can have major repercussions should the injury recur or should it require future treatment going forward. All workers’ comp. injuries have a three year statute of limitations, which means that an employer, if it doesn’t accept the injury, could stop paying medical bills after three years. Imagine having a back injury that persists and requires periodic visits to say a Chiropractor. After three years, if the employer or the carrier doesn’t formally recognize the claim, they could stop paying bills and then the worker is responsible to pay them after that.

Be aware. The mere payment of medical bills does not constitute the acceptance of an injury under the Pennsylvania workers’ comp act, nor does payment of short-term disability by an employer. If you’ve been injured at work and you’re not sure if your claim has been formally accepted by your employer, give us a call at QuatriniRafferty. We can answer your questions and make sure that your rights are protected for future payment of medical bills. I’m Mike Routch. Thank you.