This class action brings suit against companies that are trying to collect medical debt from injured consumers, alleging they do so even though the consumers are fully covered by Workers’ Compensation. The complaint calls this a violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA). The companies are a series of medical laboratories—Quest Diagnostics, Inc.—and a debt collector—CCS Global Holdings, Inc. (CCS).
The class is comprised of two subclasses:
- The Quest Diagnostics Subclass is all Florida residents to whom, between September 23, 2020 and the date of class certification in this case, Quest Diagnostics or a third party acting on its behalf sent a bill for medical-related fees where the fees arose from a Workers’ Compensation claim under chapter 440, Florida Statutes.
- The CCS Subclass is all Florida residents to whom, between September 23, 2020 and the date of class certification in this case, CCS or a third party acting on its behalf sent a bill for medical-related fees where the fees arose from a Workers’ Compensation claim under chapter 440, Florida Statutes.
The Workers’ Compensation laws in Florida forbid medical providers from trying to collect payments from people who were injured as employees in the course and scope of their employment. The complaint alleges, “Injured employees are not liable for payment of these medical services.
Providers who do try to collect on these debts, the complaint alleges, also violate the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), which forbids creditors from trying to collect any bill that is not legitimate. The complaint alleges, “The FCCPA prohibits the collection of amounts that are not agreed to by contract or expressly provided for by law, in this case, the Workers’ Compensation Statute.”
Debts do not need to be in default in order to be covered by the FCCPA. The complaint claims that Quest and CCS “have routinely and systematically ignored the FCCPA and attempt to collect payment for medical services rendered directly from injured employees in violation of the FCCPA.”
In this case, plaintiff Julia Perlin was injured at work and sought medical services from Quest. The complaint alleges that her injuries were covered by her company’s Workers’ Comp insurer, BroadSpire. The complaint claims, “Despite BroadSpire informing [Quest and CCS] to submit the bill in proper format to BroadSpire, [Quest and CCS] repeatedly sent collection letters and called [Perlin] demanding payment in full.”
The complaint alleges that Quest “has been repeatedly sued for the exact same allegations contained in” this complaint, yet continues to engage in the same behavior. It cites three previous similar class actions for billing and balance billing under Workers’ Comp.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Quest Bills for Services Covered by Workers’ Comp Florida Complaint
September 23, 2022
This class action brings suit against companies that are trying to collect medical debt from injured consumers, alleging they do so even though the consumers are fully covered by Workers’ Compensation. The complaint calls this a violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA). The companies are a series of medical laboratories—Quest Diagnostics, Inc.—and a debt collector—CCS Global Holdings, Inc. (CCS).
Quest Bills for Services Covered by Workers’ Comp Florida ComplaintCase Event History
Quest Bills for Services Covered by Workers’ Comp Florida Complaint
September 23, 2022
This class action brings suit against companies that are trying to collect medical debt from injured consumers, alleging they do so even though the consumers are fully covered by Workers’ Compensation. The complaint calls this a violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA). The companies are a series of medical laboratories—Quest Diagnostics, Inc.—and a debt collector—CCS Global Holdings, Inc. (CCS).
Quest Bills for Services Covered by Workers’ Comp Florida Complaint