Stop Workers Compensation Debt Collection Permanently
You could be entitled to $1,000.00 or more for an illegal workers compensation debt collection. Stop the collection permanently and make the collection agency pay you!
Workers Compensation Debt Collection
Debt collection agencies are prohibited from collecting workers compensation medical debts under the Utah Workers Compensation Act. Doing so also violates the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Even so, they may still try to collect these medical accounts arising out of work injuries. That can leave you feeling vulnerable and isolated.
Medical bills can quickly multiply depending on the nature of your injury and the treatment required. When that happens, debt collection agencies may start contacting you to collect the unpaid medical bills. Obviously, that increases stress levels and hinders your ability to recover physically. Unpaid medical collections will also wreck your credit score if you ignore the unpaid bills from health care providers.
Because of the various laws involved, workers compensation debt collection creates special circumstances most attorneys don’t understand. We do however. We can resolve these issues and have had great results in past cases obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements and judgments for our clients. Even if you are already represented, we can also work with your workers compensation attorney to assure you are properly compensated if a collection agency is violating your rights.
Why Does This Happen?
If you get injured at work and your employer has worker’s compensation insurance (which almost all employers are required to have under the law), medical providers send the medical bills to their insurer. Under normal circumstances, insurers pay all the medical expenses and there is no problem. However, medical providers can sometimes forward non-payments to collections and then illegally pursue you for payment.
When this happens, it adds insult to injury. Your employer’s insurer should be paying all your medical expenses but, instead, the cost is being forwarded to you. This can make you feel anxious and distressed and you may feel tremendous pressure to pay. Harassing phone calls, constant letters, and even collection agencies showing up at your door can all take their toll on your well-being.
You Are Not Legally Obliged To Pay Any Workers Compensation Medical Bills
If you get injured at work and you correctly report the injury, you are not legally obliged to pay the medical bills resulting from that work-related injury. Moreover, even if medical institutions send collection agencies to sue you, garnish your wages, or take away your property, you should owe them nothing but only if you properly protect your legal rights and file the needed paperwork. Unfortunately, if you wait around too long or fail to dispute the debt properly, you could be forced to pay a debt you didn’t actually owe.
The responsibility for compensation and payment of medical, nursing, and hospital services and medicines, and funeral expenses provided under this chapter shall be:
(a) on the employer and the employer’s insurance carrier; and
(b) not on the employee.
Utah Code Ann. § 34A-2-401
Unlawful medical debt collection practices can leave you feeling intimidated and vulnerable. In some cases, you might be tempted to pay up but that might to stop the harassment and abuse. Unfortunately, this is precisely what many workers do. They pay the money to improve their quality of life and get peace of mind. Paying the debt is almost always a mistake.
Even so, if you don’t agree to pay the money debt collection agencies claim you owe, they may escalate their collection efforts. Many get lawyers to write demanding letters threatening lawsuits if you don’t pay up. Deterring collection attorneys and law firms from using these tactics is harder than you might think. Even though such threats are legally prohibited, many still aggressively collect workers comp medical bills.
Learn how to Protect Your Rights
Remember, even if a medical company or debt collection agency threatens to take you to court for these medical expenses, it doesn’t mean they have a case. More likely, it is an illegal bullying tactic they are using on behalf of their clients to intimidate you. To fight back contact us. We can stop these illegal collections permanently.
Dispute workers compensation debt collection for free!
Don’t pay workers compensation medical debts. Call us to dispute these accounts. We stop the threat of lawsuits, wage garnishments, bank account garnishments, asset seizures, and other negative consequences.
Protect Yourself With An Attorney Who Understands Workers Compensation Debt Collection Tactics
To protect yourself from these types of claims, always work with an attorney who understands workers compensation debt collection tactics. These professionals can prevent action against you from escalating to the lawsuit level. Hiring expert help is always significantly better than ignoring the problem, even though the law is on your side.
Why Dispute Medical Debt Collections
In general, unlawful medical debt collection tactics for workers comp medical accounts are damaging for the following reasons:
- Prevents your recovery by causing stress, fear and worry, which all have tangible effects on your body
- Leads to serious, stress-induced debilitating health conditions, such as migraines, fibromyalgia, sexual dysfunction, or bowel issues
- May worsen existing chronic conditions, making it harder for you to earn the money you need to survive
- Causes emotional distress and mental health issues resulting from unlawful debt collection tactics
- Leads to feelings of embarrassment or humiliation that you are the victim of aggressive debt collection practices
- Causes psychological distress from repeatedly reminding you of the incident that caused your injury
- Increased risk of depression and negative emotions
Get Damages For Unlawful Collection Attempts
While you might have experienced emotional distress at the hands of a debt collection agency, you can file successful damages cases with our experienced consumer protection attorneys by your side. Lawsuit damages awards in the five-figure and six-figure range are common.
You could get large settlements for headaches, migraines, stomach aches, bloating, self-medication, self-harm, insomnia, or other issues that resulted from illegal collection activities. To illustrate the possibilities, we obtained the largest debt collection settlement in Utah history at more than $600,000.00 for these kinds of damages (though, smaller figures are much more common).
What are your Workers Compensation Rights
Here’s a summary of your workers compensation rights under the law:
- Medical institutions must collect payments from your employer’s workers compensation insurer
- Sometimes, medical providers illegally forward your unpaid bills to debt collection agencies
- Debt collection agencies frequently unlawfully pursue you for the money they believe you owe
- To protect yourself from lawsuits, calls, text messages, letters, and feeling cornered, hire an experienced consumer protection attorney
- A good consumer protection attorney can help you win damages settlements or awards for unlawful debt collection practices
- Unlawful collections of workers compensation medical debts are complicated and far outside what typical workers compensation attorneys can handle properly on their own
- We can work with your workers compensation attorney to get you proper compensation for unlawful bill collections
- We work these cases on a contingency basis so you pay us only when we win or settle your case
Don’t Wait to Get Help
Under Utah law debt collection agencies cannot collect workers compensation medical bills from the injured worker. If a collection agency is calling, texting, sending collection letters, or suing you for medical bills from a work-related injury, we can help. Do not wait. We can also work directly with your workers compensation attorney to assure these collections stop.
If you need help with a workers compensation debt collection case, contact us now for a FREE consultation.