Work Injury Medical Bills Piling Up: What to Do

One of the most common concerns that an injured worker has is how they are going to pay for all the medical bills related to their work injury. Fortunately, in work comp, there are no copays or deductibles. An injured worker never has to pay anything out of their own pocket for treatment that is reasonable and necessary and causally related to their work injury. However, medical provider frequently send bills and seek to collect payment for treatment they know is for a work injury. For many people, it’s hard to just let the medical bills pile up and the stress of an growing mountain of invoices can be too much. Did you know there is an option for you?

Minnesota Statute 176.136 subdivision 2. It’s a thing a beauty. It gives the employee a way to stop the bills, invoices, emails, texts, calls you name it. If you give the medical provider notice that the bills are for a work injury, or even a claimed work injury, any attempts to collect payment for the treatment after that will result in a $1,000.00 fine each time the provider tries to collect payment from you.

I have been using this template to give such notice for my clients.

When the provider tries to collect again, I use this template to request a penalty assessment.

I hope that you find these tools helpful. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Frayne Injury Law is a law firm that represents injured employees in work comp cases. A free, no obligation, consultation is available to anyone looking for legal advice.