San Jose, CA asked in Personal Injury, Employment Law and Workers' Compensation for California

Q: If I have an open Work Comp case they are denying all request for treatment can I seek medical treatment with own Ins?

My work comp case is closed they were denying all medical request thru my work comp doctor so my doctor and attorney at the time stated that I needed to seek immediate medical treatment for my injury and that by law I am able to use my own insurance. My insurance paid all my medical bills but now that my work comp case has closed they are retracting all payments and saying that I am responsible for paying out of pocket. My current medical bills are all on doctors error wrong size knee/rod placed into my leg they were talking amputation. I had not been using work comp for over 2 yrs

2 Lawyer Answers
Thomas A. Grossman
Thomas A. Grossman
Answered
  • Palm Springs, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: I think the best thing you can do is rely on your attorney to fight the worker's comp carrier. I have more experience on third-party cases than worker's comp cases. However, depending on the circumstances you may have both a worker's comp case and a third party liability case (where another party caused your injuries). I don't know enough about your case to answer those questions. It sounds like you had an injury that had been resolved two years ago, so the Comp Carrier might try to treat this as a pre-existing claim. Again I would ask your attorney about these things. It sounds like you had a bad injury if you had a plate inserted in your leg. Don't let them off the hook. Good Luck.

1 user found this answer helpful

William John Light
William John Light
Answered
  • Santa Ana, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Talk to your workers comp attorney about whether you have any remaining rights and/or can reopen your case.

Your personal health insurer will have an exclusion for work related injuries. Whether that would apply to physician errors is unknown. That might be a new injury.

You might also talk to a medical malpractice attorney.

1 user found this answer helpful

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.