Workers’ compensation carriers in California routinely deny necessary treatment to injured workers to avoid paying on claims. However, this shortsightedness often leads to greater payments and higher costs for the system. The following is an actual example from a case Butler Viadro provided representation. A California peace officer sustained an on the job injury to her back which ultimately required surgery. As part of the surgery, this injured worker had a catheter inserted into her urinary tract/urethra. Following the surgery, she developed a urinary tract infection, and her surgeon prescribed antibiotics. The workers’ compensation carrier refused to authorize the antibiotics stating the infection was not related to her back injury.
The peace officer ultimately had to go to the emergency department because of the urinary tract infection. The cost of the emergency department visit is anticipated to be more than 30 times the cost that the antibiotics alone would have been. And, the workers compensation carrier will now be held responsible for payment of same because the infection was secondary to the catheter insertion. Why didn’t the carrier do the obvious thing and authorize the antibiotics that were necessary because of the back surgery? There is no good reason. And, the next time the employers in this state complain that workers’ compensation medical costs are too high and seek “reform” of the system, injured workers will bear the burden of the higher costs associated with inept claims handling like the example above.
The experienced attorneys at Butler Viadro care about their clients and fighting for the benefits that they deserve. If you or a loved one are involved in a personal injury or accident at work contact Butler Viadro for a free consultation today so we can help provide you the legal counsel needed to treat your injuries.