This morning finds me in Pittsburgh to attend the 105th annual convention for the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). The last few days of travel have left little time for writing – which is odd considering we are in a push to reach the 6,000,000-reader mark in the next week or so. You would expect we should actually give you something to read.
I just wanted to make a quick post this morning to draw your attention to an article on our site today by Liz Carey. In “Injured Worker Who Rejected WC Benefits Must Reimburse Health Insurer,” she tells the story of a man who was injured while riding his motorcycle between two work locations in the middle of the workday. He was severely injured in an accident on that commute. Despite his employer filing for workers’ comp and his claim being accepted, he rejected the benefits because, on the ride, he had meandered on various roads taking advantage of a beautiful day. He did not therefore believe that the injury was work related.
All was well and good until his health insurer went to court to be relieved of the obligation to pay for his injuries, and the court ordered him to reimburse the insurer $500,000 for his treatment.
Whoopsie.
We will probably come back and visit this topic again, as it is not often we find a story where someone made what they thought was an honest call and got punished for the effort. Usually we talk about people fighting for benefits who have been denied, not the other way around.
And for some of us who may have had those borderline injuries and opted just to go the healthcare route, it should give pause. You might want to rethink that strategy. More soon; until then have a great day, and should you be awarded any benefits in workers’ comp, you’d best take them.