Comp Insurers Agree to Settle Doctors' Class Action for $10 Million

After three years in federal court in Illinois, a class action lawsuit alleging insurers engaged in a long-running practice to delay medical bills and avoid paying interest on them has resulted in a settlement agreement. Some 80 insurance carriers will now pay a total of $10 million to thousands of workers' compensation doctors who said the carriers took advantage of state law that, until recently, offered few enforcement mechanisms for unpaid medical bills. The lead plaintiff in Beatty vs. Accident Fund General Insurance et al is Dr. Michael Beatty, a longtime hand surgeo...