What Medical Bills Should Workers’ Compensation Cover?

What Medical Bills Should Workers’ Compensation Cover?

If your job leaves you injured, it’s important to access your employer’s workers’ compensation for the medical expenses related to diagnosis and treatment that you incur, but obtaining the compensation to which you’re entitled is not always a straightforward process. 

If you’ve been hurt on the job, you’re counting on your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance to cover your medical bills while you attend to the important task of regaining your health. Understanding the medical bills that are typically covered by workers’ compensation can help you get a better handle on your claim. If you’ve been injured on the job, seek the legal counsel of an experienced Kansas workers’ compensation attorney.

Kansas Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation is state-mandated insurance coverage that’s intended to cover employees when they’re injured on the job (or as a result of their job). By accepting workers’ compensation benefits, you waive the right to sue your employer for any negligence that may have contributed to or caused your injury. Workers’ compensation insurance, in other words, attempts to balance protecting employers from liability and providing employees with the compensation they need. There are, however, inherent limitations.

Your Covered Medical Bills

If you’ve been injured on the job – or your job led to an injury such as a repetitive motion injury – workers’ compensation should cover all medical treatment that is recommended by your attending physician and is deemed proper and necessary to treat your specific injuries. Consider the following expenses:

• Emergency Care – Whether you need an ambulance to transport you to the scene of the accident and/or emergency surgery, workers’ comp should cover these often-immense emergency expenses.
• Diagnostic Tests – Diagnostic tests include the X-rays, MRIs, and other diagnostic tools that help medical professionals evaluate your condition and medical needs, and they are typically covered by workers’ compensation.
• Medical Treatment – All medical treatment recommended by your doctor that is considered proper and necessary (and reasonable) should be covered. This is obviously, however, open to interpretation, and workers’ compensation providers are adept at ferreting out exceptions.
• Alternative Treatments – While many people benefit from alternative treatment options, such as acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, and the like, workers’ compensation is very unlikely to cover this variety of medical costs. Experimental treatment plans and medications are likely to be similarly denied.

It’s worth noting that while you can theoretically use the doctor of your choice, your employer is only required to pay up $500 in expenses incurred with a doctor who is outside of its plan, and when it comes to medical expenses, $500 is not going to get you very far. If you’ve been injured on the job, it’s always in your best interest to work closely with a dedicated Kansas workers’ compensation attorney.

Contact an Experienced Kansas Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today

If you’ve suffered an injury at work, the workers’ compensation attorney at Pyle Law in Kansas is adept at helping clients like you obtain compensation that covers their full range of damages. We’re on your side, so please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at 620-374-9299 for more information today.