What recourse do we have if my wife gave birth this summer and she was told by her employer that she had medical insurance, however she did not although premiums had been deducted from her paycheck?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What recourse do we have if my wife gave birth this summer and she was told by her employer that she had medical insurance, however she did not although premiums had been deducted from her paycheck?

She was not paying premiums of of her checks her employer was covering the premiums; I believe it’s called employer sponsored. Little to our knowledge, or anyone’s knowledge at the school, the owner was not paying the premiums to the insurance company and the insurance was cancelled in January. On my wife’s pay stubs from January-July it states that the company was paying medical but in reality they were not. We are now receiving bills from hospitals and doctors offices for all the pre and post appointments. Are bills are now in total $50,000. Do we have any legal action against her employer?

Asked on October 24, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Wisconsin

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

You can sue the employer for your wife's medical costs: you only incurred those costs due to the employer doing one or more of a) negligently (carelessly) failing to pay for insurance; b) intentionally pocketing your wife's (and other employees?) premiums (the payroll deductions) without in turn paying for insurance; c) violating the contract or agreement (even if only oral) that in exchange for working, your wife could get health insurance. That's the good news--based on what you write, you have a cause of action against the employer. And if the company were a sole proprietorship or partnership (not an LLC or corporation), you can sue the owner(s) personally.
The bad news: 
1) You and wife are liable for the medical bills; even though you have a claim vs. the employer, the medical care providers are entitled to seek payment from you, and can sue you for the money if you can't pay.
2) If the employer was an LLC or corporation, you can only sue the company itself--and if the company is insolvent (e.g. if the reason it wasn't pay was financial distress or embezzlement), you may not be able to recover anything.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption