[gigi9585]

My question involves workers compensation law for the state of: Arizona

I was hurt at work in Sept of 2004 and had to get stitches. My manager drove me to hospital so I assumed everything was being done to ensure that workman's comp insurance is being provided, etc. A few weeks later I received a call from the hospital about the bill. I told the general manager that I had been contacted by the hospital and he said not to answer calls from them and not to worry about it. I was only 19 at the time so I just assumed it was being taken care of, like he said. Now I see that the account has gone to collections and is being reported on my credit report with a balance of $983 due.
I went to the Industrial Commission of Arizona's website and looked at the Employer Report of Injury and it said to fill it out and send it within 10 days. Obviously, they did not do that, as it is 4 years later and still not sent in. Is it stated in the law that employers MUST file injure reports with the industrial board within 10 days.

I just wrote my old employer this letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter after numerous attempts to speak with [HR Lady] over the phone regarding my situation. I spoke with her once and have left several messages in the month of March. However, she has yet to return any of my calls.

I was employed at the Tempe location of [Restaurant] from approximately August of 2004 to September of 2005. I began as a Deli Cashier, under general management of [General Manager], and was promoted to server before I had to leave due to school demands. I enjoyed my time there and genuinely liked and respected all of my co-workers and managers. It’s upsetting that such a good experience has ended so sourly as I currently have a medical collections account on my credit report in the amount of $983 for an work injury that should have been covered by Workman’s Comp insurance at the time of the injury. However, due to an oversight on your part, this claim was never filed and I am now suffering the repercussions.

In September of 2004 I cut my finger on the meat slicer while slicing bagel chips. [Manager] was the manager on duty at the time. The cut was so deep that it caused permanent nerve damage to my finger and I had to get stitches immediately. This happened very close to closing time and, after we closed the restaurant, [Manager] drove me to the hospital. From what I remember, he had the Worker’s Comp insurance information in-hand when I received my services. A few weeks later, I received a call from the hospital regarding the bill. When I mentioned to [General Manager] that I was being contacted he told me that it is illegal for them to contact me and that I should not worry about it. I assumed this meant it was being taken care of. I thought that maybe there was an insurance delay, but that ultimately the phone calls would end. They did end. However, upon recent review of my credit report, I see that the hospital has since sent the debt to a Collections Agency and it is still reporting a balance, which is a very damaging to my credit.

This debt and its subsequent reporting to the Credit Bureaus could undoubtedly affect my life in a very negative way. I could risk being denied a mortgage or a car loan, and I would not be able to take advantage of the low interest rates being offered to those with prime credit rating. I hope you understand how important these things are to me.

In order to rectify the situation, I am requesting that you send me a money order for $983 made payable to [Hospital] with the back endorsed with the statement “For Deposit Only in The Account of [Hospital]”. I will see to it that the bill is properly paid because I need documentation in order to clear my credit. I cannot stress enough that it is imperative that I deliver this money order to the hospital with documentation, as this is only way for me to remove this damaging information from my credit report.

I expect a response within 30 days. If I do not receive a response within this time I will have no choice but to file complaints with the Industrial Board of Arizona, the BBB, and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. It should be noted that your refusal to file a worker’s compensation claim with both the Industrial Board of Arizona and your insurance carrier within 10 days of the incident is a violation of Arizona State Legislature Section 23-1061.

I look forward to hearing from you and resolving this.

Sincerely,



Gigi9585

I haven't sent it yet. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can best go about this.

[seniorjudge]

My manager drove me to hospital so I assumed everything was being done to ensure that workman's comp insurance is being provided, etc.

And why would you think someone besides you is responsible for your actions (or, in this case, inaction)?

[525601minutes]

When you went to get your stitches do you remember if you went to the occupational medicine department? Do you have any paperwork at all from that evening? Does it contain the information for the restaurant's insurance carrier on the paperwork? How about the doctor's report? Does it say the accident occurred while you were at work?

[gigi9585]

To SeniorJudge:
Wow, you're a real big help. Did I say anywhere that they were responsible for my actions? No.

However, they DID fail to file the claim in the 10 day period required by law. Had they filed the incident, I would have been contacted by the Arizona Industrial Board to file claim myself and I would have done it and this whole thing would not have happened.

Also, when I spoke with my general manager about the fact that the hospital was contacting me, he assured me that they were taking care of it. As far as I'm concerned, that's an oral contract.

If you're not going to help or offer anything constructive, why do you even bother answering? You must have a sad life.

I do have papers from that night, but I haven't looked them over yet. I know for a fact that the restaurant NEVER filed the industrial board OR their insurance. I called them both. I have no problem proving that this happened at work, I still know some of the people that were working that night and I know I told the doctor so it should be in the doctor's report. Oh and I went to the emergency room when I got stitches, so I doubt it was the occupational medicine department.

[seniorjudge]

To SeniorJudge:
Wow, you're a real big help. Did I say anywhere that they were responsible for my actions? No.

However, they DID fail to file the claim in the 10 day period required by law. Had they filed the incident, I would have been contacted by the Arizona Industrial Board to file claim myself and I would have done it and this whole thing would not have happened.

Also, when I spoke with my general manager about the fact that the hospital was contacting me, he assured me that they were taking care of it. As far as I'm concerned, that's an oral contract.

If you're not going to help or offer anything constructive, why do you even bother answering? You must have a sad life.

I do have papers from that night, but I haven't looked them over yet. I know for a fact that the restaurant NEVER filed the industrial board OR their insurance. I called them both. I have no problem proving that this happened at work, I still know some of the people that were working that night and I know I told the doctor so it should be in the doctor's report. Oh and I went to the emergency room when I got stitches, so I doubt it was the occupational medicine department.

http://www.scfaz.com/inj_work/inj_fil.php

Here is the stuff you are required to do.

Did you do all this?

[gigi9585]

I'm not sure if I filled out the report of injury at the hospital. It's very possible that if the form was never offered to me, I did not fill one out. However, if the hospital was aware that I was there for a work related injury, they would have probably provided it, no? Either way, I was 19 years old and yeah, I ASSUMED, that worker's comp meant the employer takes care of the paperwork.

From that same website, THIS is what employers are required to do:

http://www.scfaz.com/pol_hold/pol_fil.php

They didn't do that. Though they assured me they were taking care of it verbally.

[seniorjudge]

If I were you, I'd hire a lawyer.

If you cannot hire a lawyer, then you need to contact the work comp folks and do your part.

They may tell you it is too late.

From the extremely limited contact I have had with work comp bureaucracies, they are real picky on not doing your paperwork.

They may tell you that you are just plain out of luck.

You see, it makes no difference what your employer did or did not do if you didn't do what YOU were supposed to do.

(And no need to get nasty with me; the questions I've asked and the stuff I've told you is, as far as I know, accurate and necessary. Don't take your anger out on me.)

[gigi9585]

If I were you, I'd hire a lawyer.

If you cannot hire a lawyer, then you need to contact the work comp folks and do your part.

They may tell you it is too late.

From the extremely limited contact I have had with work comp bureaucracies, they are real picky on not doing your paperwork.

They may tell you that you are just plain out of luck.

You see, it makes no difference what your employer did or did not do if you didn't do what YOU were supposed to do.

(And no need to get nasty with me; the questions I've asked and the stuff I've told you is, as far as I know, accurate and necessary. Don't take your anger out on me.)

Ok, I'm sorry for getting nasty. It's just that I am well aware that this could have been prevented and trust me, if I had a time machine I would go back in time and make 100% sure that I filed the claims, regardless of what my employer told me at the time. But I don't, and what's done is done. I know that I didn't do my part, and I'm not blaming that on them, though it would have been nice if they wouldn't have misinformed me by saying that it is ILLEGAL for the hospital to contact me about the debt.

I'm not even interested in Worker's Comp anymore. I know I'm WAY out of the SOL and the claim would never be accepted. I'm wondering if I can sue them for the amount, in order to get it off my credit report. After all, they actually violated the law. All I did was forget to file some papers.

[525601minutes]

I'm not sure if I filled out the report of injury at the hospital. It's very possible that if the form was never offered to me, I did not fill one out. However, if the hospital was aware that I was there for a work related injury, they would have probably provided it, no? Either way, I was 19 years old...

I'm not sure why you feel being 19 at the time has something to do with the validity of your claim. (It does not.)
You are not sure if you filled out the form... "IF the hospital was aware" then yes, they should have provided one to you... only you would know if you told them you were injured at work so they could hand you the form.

From the hospital's view point perhaps they did give you the paperwork and you neglected to fill it out. I don't know - but you should. Or perhaps they were never informed this was a worker's comp claim.

As I already asked - do you have ANY written information from this incident at all that could help prove you were injured on the job? What about the manager who told you to 'ignore' all of the billing collection phone calls? Any proof this happened? Do they still work at this establishment?

[seniorjudge]

Sue the bad people in small claims court. Even if you win the case and get a judgment against your former employer, I don't think that will help your credit report.

Repairing your credit usually takes time, the great healer.

I am not a credit repair expert; maybe someone else here knows something about that.