Medical Benefits
Colorado workers’ compensation laws dictate that employers are responsible for paying any and all medical bills that are associated with a workplace injury and with treatments that are essential to helping the injured worker recover as much as possible. While employers legally have to pay for medical care – including surgeries, hospital stays, hospital treatments, necessary medical equipment, etc., they also have the right to limit an employee’s choices of doctors by providing a list of physicians from which the injured worker has to choose.
If employers don’t provide a list of doctors, then injured employees may seek medical care from their own physicians; however,
this is rarely the case, as employers typically want injured workers to visit doctors with whom they have a relationship and, as a result, who will likely make recommendations that favor the employer.
Barriers to Medical Benefits
Despite the fact that the law lays out this explicit coverage for injured workers’ medical benefits, in practice, there are many ways in which employers and insurance companies may try to limit or shortchange these benefits. Some common barriers to medical benefits may include (but are not limited to):
- Insurance companies’ denial of coverage for certain medical treatments – Just because an injured worker’s doctor recommends a treatment does not mean that the individual will receive that treatment, as an insurance company may deny coverage for it because, according to the company, the treatment is not necessary.In such cases, the insurance company may even bring in its own medical examiner to offer a second opinion. These examiners are often individuals who have long-standing relationships with insurers and, as such, are likely to make decisions that favor the insurance company (i.e., validating that a medical treatment is not necessary when it may, in fact, be crucial to an injured worker’s recovery).
- Insurers assigning nurse case managers to an injured worker’s case – Nurse case managers are medical professionals who go with injured workers to their doctors’ appointments, coordinate treatment and manage workers’ medical care. Although it may seem like these individuals are there to support injured workers, they are, in fact, employees of the insurance company and, as such, are typically looking out for the best interest of the insurer – not the injured worker.It’s important that injured workers are aware that they do NOT have to have nurse case managers involved in their case and that they can disengage these managers from their case by submitting a written request to do so to insurers.
Our Denver Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Superior Service
Have you been injured at work? If so, getting the medical care you need in a timely manner will be crucial to your recovery, and you will likely need an experienced attorney on your side to ensure that your medical benefits are not being shortchanged.
The respected Denver workers’ compensation attorneys at the Bisset Law Firm want you to know that we are here for you. While we are passionate about aggressively advocating your rights and standing up to insurers, we are also committed to working relentlessly to help you obtain the benefits you need and deserve. Our goals are to provide each of our clients with the highest quality legal representation, keep each of our clients informed at every stage of their case and, ultimately, help them obtain the best possible results from their cases.
Contact Us Today
Contact the Denver workers’ compensation lawyers at the Bisset Law Firm by calling (303) 894-8900 to learn more about your rights and receive a professional assessment of your case.
