Alabama Workers Compensation Questions: (35) Can I use my own insurance to receive medical treatment?

Alabama Workers Compensation Questions: (35) Can I use my own insurance to receive medical treatment?  Generally, NO.

Alabama law dictates that your employer has to report a job injury. This is not open for interpretation; at this point your claim should be turned over to your employers’ workers’ compensation insurance carrier. In order to use your personal health insurance, you would have to lie about how the accident occurred in order for your health insurance to pay for your treatment, and you would be committing fraud. Your actions would be forcing your insurance carrier to bear a cost they are not legally obligated to pay.

If your insurance provider later finds out that your injury was really the result of a job accident, they will withdraw all the monies they have already paid for your treatment, and you will be personally responsible for paying these medical bills. Most of us simply do not have the money to pay for a surgery out of pocket.

Lastly, despite any promise from your employer to “take care of you,” if you fib about how your injury occurred, once you lie to several doctors about how your injury occurred, it is extremely tempting (and easy) for your employer to “forget” that you were hurt at work. At this point, all they have to say is that you never told them that you were hurt at work, and it can be difficult (but not impossible) for you to prove otherwise.

If workers compensation has refused to accept liability for your injury, then you are free to see whom you wish and have your insurance carrier cover the expenses. If later it is shown that your injury was the result of a work injury, then workers comp will be responsible for reimbursing your personal health insurance provider and the doctor you have chosen will then become your authorized medical provider.

If you live in Alabama and you have questions about what benefits you are entitled to receive under Alabama’s Workers Comp Statute, don’t hesitate to contact one of the experienced Alabama Workers Compensation Lawyers at Powell and Denny today.

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Powell and Denny have been selected as one of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report for each of the last 5 years, have been selected as one of Birmingham’s Top Lawyers by B-Metro Magazine for the last 3 years, have been selected by The National Advocates as one of the Top 20 Workers’ Compensation Firms (plaintiffs) and Powell and Denny, P.C.-has been selected as one of the “Best of the Best” law firms by The American Registry.

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