Q: Who pays for your medical bills after a workmans comp settlement?
A: It depends on what is agreed to in the settlement. The parties are free to agree to have the carrier remain responsible for past, present and future medical bills, but the parties can also agree that the injured worker is responsible for payment of the medical bills. In most workers' compensation settlements the carrier remains responsible for reasonable, necessary and causally related medical bills through the date of the hearing to seek approval of the agreement, but from the hearing date forward the injured worker becomes responsible for the cost of ongoing treatment.
Francis Joseph Lafferty agrees with this answer
A: Unless you and your attorney negotiate for the future payment of medical expenses, the workers compensation insurer will stop paying for medical expenses incurred after the date of the hearing to approve your settlement. If that is the case, then you will be responsible for any and all medical expenses following he hearing to approve your settlement, or Compromise and Release Agreement. You can, however, negotiate to have the workers compensation insurer remain responsible for the payment of future medical expenses indefinitely, or for a certain "closed period" of time following the settlement, but this must be negotiated and explicitly included in the terms of the Compromise and Release Agreement that needs to be approved by the Workers Compensation Judge.
Timothy Belt agrees with this answer
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