What can we do if my husband’s employer refuses to pay for his medical bills regarding an on the job injury?
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What can we do if my husband’s employer refuses to pay for his medical bills regarding an on the job injury?
My husband was in an accident and his co-worker was driving. He didn’t have insurance but there is insurance on the company truck. The employer refuses to
give my husband his vehicle insurance information.
Asked on June 24, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
First, bear in mind that your husband's employer is NOT automatically responsible for your husband's injuries or bills: being injured while working does not necessarily make the employer liable, and being injured in another person's (or company's) vehicle also does not make the vehicle owner liable. Liability depends on fault: on having done something negligent, or unreasonably careless, to cause the accident.
If your husband's employer has worker's compensation coverage, the worker's comp may well provide at least partial compensation to your husband. If the employer will not cooperate in placing a worker's compensation claim, contact your state's Worker's Compensation Commission.
If the employer did not maintain worker's companesatin (as they should have), your husband could sue the employer and the co-worker, but would have to prove that either the co-worker was driving carelesslessly or that that the accident occured due to the truck not being properly maintained: again, he'd need to show fault on the part of the other employee or the employer more generally to be entitled to compensation. Without fault, there is no liability, and so no entitlement to compensation in the absence of worker's compensation.
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