[Chin14609]

Hi!

My brother in law fell in the parking lot at work last year. He hit is head and was admitted to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury. He died 4 months later. We filed with workers comp and they have offered a section 32 settlement. The settlement is a lump sum, no medical payments. Our question is can the hospital sue the estate for the outstanding medical bills? My BIL had employer issued insurance and the doctors first filed with workers comp which was denied to to the ongoing case and then they filed with the private insurance and were denied again because they waited too long to file a claim and were denied. A few doctors were able to get paid by the private insurance company because they filed within the 90 day time period. The settlement is small, but the workers comp case was weak. We just don’t want to put the estate in jeopardy for a small settlement if the hospital can sue the estate for a whole lot more in medical bills.

Our attorney thinks there is a small chance that they could come back, but we just don’t know.

Thanks!

[1171]

Actually their proper procedure is to file lien against the claim. Generally when there is a settlement the liens are prorated based on the settlement ratio. E.g. if the settlement amount is 10 cents on the dollar then the lien payment is also reduced accordingly.
While your atty can add a “ hold harmless “ clause, there is no guarantee they won’t try and litigate.
Generally the court wants to incentivize settlements and would not want to allow it to be swallowed by a medical claim that would otherwise be disallowed and unpaid if you were to reject the settlement.

[Chin14609]

Thanks for the info and correction. How exactly would the hospital find out? I am under no obligation to disclose the nature of the settlement. Also I’m confused how they can lien a settlement if the remedy would be to file a process the claims through the private insurance company.

[1171]

Record search.
You stated the treatment was for the parking lot claim, which is what your settlement is for. You both are looking for com bhenefits.