Presented with hospital bills of nearly $38.68 million for two men severely burned in a work-related explosion, an insurance company filed suit.
The American Interstate Insurance Co. has until Nov. 11 to respond to the motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit which was filed by Doctors Hospital and the Joseph M. Still Burn Center earlier this month.
MORE: Kasey Brooks’ case in daycare assault is transferred to Augusta District Attorney
The American Interstate Insurance filed suit in U.S. District Court in Augusta on July 8. The company provides workman’s compensation for the Advanced Environmental Options Inc. of Spartanburg, S.C.
The lawsuit centers on two of Advanced Environmental Options employees severely burned in a Nov. 1, 2021, fire. The employees were cleaning fiber pellets and plastic dust at Innovative Fibers when a furnace ignited a fire that day.
According to local news reports in Spartanburg, the employees were airlifted to the JMS Burn Center for treatment, and two others were treated at the Spartanburg Medical Center.
The insurance company contends the hospital bills are arbitrary and exorbitant and far surpasses the maximum payment set under the worker’s comp law in South Carolina. The company paid the maximum amount of just over $3.77 million.
MORE: Man pleads guilty to role in jail attack
The insurance company seeks a judgment that it does not have to pay any more than what it has, or that it be required to pay no more than “reasonable” amounts as required under the Georgia worker’s comp law.
The hospital seeks the dismissal of the lawsuit. It contends the two employees needed months of life-saving medical treatment at the largest burn center in the country.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
