Is medical malpractice covered by Workers’ Compensation?

Jun 16, 2022 | WC & Other Laws

Is medical malpractice covered by Workers’ Compensation? – If you’re injured on the job, it could happen that your treatment is delayed or not provided in a timely or quality basis, and that might result not only in needless extended pain, but in additional disability or impairment because of the lack or treatment or timely medical care.

Is medical malpractice covered by Workers’ Compensation?

Why would there be poor quality care in Workers’ Compensation?

There are many reasons why that would be. Number one, the doctors may think incorrectly that their client is the insurance company or the employer, because they’re the ones who select them, and not the patient in front of them.

Number two, insurance companies tend to pick doctors who are conservative in their medical care, meaning they tend to follow a checklist and not to be aggressive when they give treatment, for example, they won’t immediately rush to do an MRI or an x-ray unless they’ve done a number of things to rule out potential problems.

Number three, insurance companies will sometimes delay authorizing care, maybe they have questions, etc.

Can you suffer malpractice in a Workers’ Compensation injury?

Yes, the doctor still has a duty to you as the patient, to give you medical care that is the standard of care. So, if for example, you need an operation in the right leg, and the doctor operates on the left leg, that’s clear medical malpractice and you could sue the doctor.

The problem that most people with medical malpractice have, is that it’s difficult to get an attorney to take this kind of cases because, in general, medical malpractice lawsuits are the most expensive kind of lawsuit, meaning thousands of dollars in litigation expenses.

If you have extraordinary damages like loss of limbs, loss of bowel movement control, brain damage, etc., that will justify spending that amount of money, but if you don’t, it’s going to be difficult to get an attorney willing to put in that money.

Does Workers’ Compensation cover medical malpractice?

Yes, and the great news is that you don’t even have to prove that it was malpractice, you just have to prove that you were injured in the medical care.

Even if the doctors were completely careful and they weren’t negligent at all, but you still suffered additional harm in the treatment for the injury, the additional care that you need, the additional lost wages and the additional impairment you may have, Workers’ Compensation has to pay for it.

Not only do they have to pay for the benefits you need because of the injury itself, but if you get further injured in the treatment, Workers’ Compensation has to pay for that too.