#4 Will Personal Injury Protection (PIP) pay my patients wage loss for missed time from work because of treatment?
QUESTION: Will personal injury protection, PIP, pay for my patient’s missed time from work for their medical treatment?
ANSWER: The Oregon PIP statute does not require the PIP carrier pay for missed time from work for your patient’s medical treatment for the injuries from their car accident. Even though your patient’s lost wages for going to their medical appointments is not covered by their PIP policy — if someone else was at fault for the car accident, when it’s time for your patient to settle their personal injury claim, they are entitled to be reimbursed for their lost wages for the time they missed for their treatment appointments. Your patient must have someone at their place of employment document the days and duration that they’re away from work for treatment for the at-fault driver’s insurance company to consider reimbursement of lost wages.
Will personal injury protection, PIP, pay for my patient’s missed time from work for their medical treatment?
Unfortunately, there is no language in the Oregon PIP statute that requires the PIP carrier to pay for missed time from work for your patient’s medical treatment for the injuries from their car accident.
Even though your patient’s lost wages for going to their medical appointments is not covered by their PIP policy —
if someone else was at fault for the car accident, when it’s time for your patient to settle their personal injury claim, they are entitled to be reimbursed for their wages for the time they missed for their treatment appointments.
The challenge with getting reimbursed at settlement time can be that not everyone who works for a business has a Human Resources (HR) department that keeps track of the reason an employee misses time from work and how long their away from work for their medical appointments.
If there is an HR department or a person who is responsible for keeping track of the reason an employee misses work and their time, your patient should talk to them when they begin going to treatment appointments.
That is the most reliable way for your patient to keep track of their lost wages and the kind of documentation the at-fault insurance company will require to ensure that your patient is reimbursed when it comes to settling their claim.
We’re here to be a bridge of support for you and your patients.
We have developed a robust library of information for your patients who have been injured in an accident, which can be found in the INJURED? START HERE portal on our website.
There are 40 topic-focused articles, with accompanying videos, organized into the four categories that include the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often, which include:
- Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
- What You Need to Know About Your Claim
- How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
- How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam
Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.
Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.
Additionally, if it would be helpful to have the information we feature on our website available in your office to pass along to your patients, we’ve developed brochures for each of the four article series -- in both English and Spanish that we’re happy to send to your office. Please complete the form below and we’ll get them out to you promptly.
