Are railroad employees covered by workers' compensation benefits or health insurance coverage when they're injured on the job? | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Typically, injured railroad employees are covered by the health insurance provided to them as a result of the collective bargaining agreement. Some companies maintain specific health insurance policies for injuries suffered by employees on the job, but it is very rare that a railroad employee is covered by workers’ compensation. This means that whenever an employee is being treated for on-duty injuries, he or she needs to make sure that the health care provider knows which health insurance company is providing coverage and reimbursement for medical care.

The health care provider should also be given the information off of the health insurance member card for billing purposes. If that information is not provided to the health care provider, the doctor, nurse, hospital or clinic may attempt to file the bills with a workers’ compensation carrier, which will lead to the bills being declined, a delay in payment and, perhaps, a referral to a collection agency on bills, which can all be prevented by having the bills promptly submitted to the proper health insurance carrier.

Learn more: As Virginia and Carolina attorneys specializing in FELA and railroad injury law, we offer hundreds of pages of information to help you learn your rights and recover compensation if you’ve been hurt on the job, riding trains or crossing rail tracks.