Home Healthcare and Workers’ Compensation

For obvious reasons, workers’ compensation is intricately intertwined with the health care industry. This may include hospital stays, physical therapy, chiropractic services, psychological treatment, or an enormous variety of other services, depending on the nature of the work-related injury. With respect to home healthcare, employers need to be aware of two different potential issues that are related to workers’ compensation.

The first potential issue is if the employer’s own business is to provide home healthcare services. In California, it is required that all employers provide workers’ compensation insurance for all of their employees, with a few limited exceptions. The home healthcare industry is not one of those exceptions, in and of itself. In other words, chances are that your home healthcare business is required by California law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Although home healthcare is not typically thought of as a “high risk” industry, there are many hazards inherent in the home healthcare business. Home healthcare providers are always inside of unfamiliar homes that may not be very clean or safe. Even if the home is completely free of typical hazards, simply being unfamiliar with surroundings can lead to more injuries. Accordingly, it is essential that home healthcare business owners not ignore the workers’ compensation insurance mandate.

The other potential issue could be whether an employer of a worker who has sustained work-related injuries is required to pay out a claim for home healthcare. This issue was addressed in a WCAB case called Hernandez v. Geneva Staffing, Inc. that was handed down in June 2014. In that case, a worker had a severely injured hand and received home healthcare services from his wife. He submitted a claim to his employer for payment for those home healthcare services. The employer denied the claim, based on the fact that the employee failed to provide a valid medical prescription for the home healthcare services. The WCAB explained that an employer may be liable to pay for home healthcare services where certain conditions are met, such as a valid medical prescription. The WCAB also explained that the amount that the employer may be liable for is limited by the Official Fee Schedule.

Employers of any industry have many responsibilities toward their employees when it comes to workers’ compensation. Call me today at (714) 516-8188 and let me review your business’s obligations with you.

Ratings and Reviews