If a university or college has enough undergraduate lab accidents requiring ambulances for this to become an issue, that institution has a much bigger problem
than insurance.
Michael J. Wright
Director of Health, Safety and Environment
United Steelworkers
412-562-2580 office
412-370-0105 cell
See us on the web at
www.usw.org
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu]
On Behalf Of Margaret Rakas
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2016 2:32 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Question Concerning Insurance and Liability for Undergraduate Lab Accidents
Where this gets tricky is 1) the deductible for ER or ambulance services, which for some plans can be quite high; 2) the insurer 'pushing back' because (among other reasons) this kinda sorta looks like Workers Comp, particularly if the
student is performing research. I understand the distinction--the student is not an employee, etc--but if you think the insurance companies are not going to try to push back against (in particular) an individual--then you have had much better experiences
with them than everyone else I know.
So who is legally responsible for the deductibles? Certainly the individual will be billed; whether the institution covers them in some or all cases, I guess, depends on state law and institutional policies...
On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 2:16 PM, Simolo, Ken <simolo**At_Symbol_Here**ur.rochester.edu> wrote:
At our institution (and I believe in most others), the students have to have their own medical insurance in order to be a student here. Usually they pay a small fee that gives them every day access to a health care service for things like
the flu. But it is expected that they will use their own private insurance for major medical costs such as an ambulance. It would not make much sense to have the institution pay for a medical cost that is covered by the student's insurance.
Geez. Not only do students go into debt for tuition, they have to pay for their own medical costs for accidents in the lab? You gotta be kidding. When I went to school,
tuition was a snap and there was a health service that picked up just about everything you needed whether school-related or not.
I don't know why these kids are not in the streets with placards. No wonder you-know-who is doing well in the polls.
Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President: Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
--
Margaret A. Rakas, Ph..D.
Manager, Inventory & Regulatory Affairs
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)
