Future Medical Buyouts in Workers’ Comp: What to Know

• Sep 09, 2025
• Blog
• Michael Burgis & Associates, P.C

If you have an open workers’ compensation case with future medical benefits, you may be wondering whether it makes sense to keep them open or consider a buyout. While you are never required to settle your future medical, and you can keep it open for life, in some cases—especially when ongoing treatment is costly—insurance companies may offer to buy out that exposure.

In the video below, Managing Attorney Michael Burgis explains the value of future medical benefits, when a buyout may be worth exploring, and how strategic litigation can push insurers toward a fair settlement.

Transcript:

Hi, my name is Michael Burgis, and I’m the managing attorney of MB&A.

Workers’ Comp, Stipulated Awards, and Future Medical

I’m making this video because if you’re receiving this, you likely have what’s called a stipulated award or that you have future medical left open on your workers’ compensation case. Let me be clear. You never have to settle that out, and you could keep it open for the rest of your life.

However, I do want to note that that has considerable value, especially if you’re treating and the insurance company is having to spend a lot of money.

Future Medical Buyout

Sometimes an insurance company will be interested in buying out that exposure, again, especially if you’re treating and they’re spending a lot of money on this. Ultimately, if it’s the county or the city or a governmental municipality, it’s a little bit more difficult to get them to want to buy it out, although it’s not impossible and I have my tricks.

But if you’re watching this and you have an open future medical case and you’re getting fed up with the workers’ comp system and you are interested in getting a buyout of that future medical, please call our office. Please let us know. I have many tricks that we can do to potentially get that resolved by compromise and release. But let me be clear. Even a judge, nobody can, nobody can force an insurance company to do a lump sum buyout.

How to Encourage a Settlement

The way I’m often able to do this is, frankly, by being a pain in the ass to the insurance company, by litigating every little nuance, every little denial. Ultimately, they have to pay attorneys to fight me, and ultimately they get their ass kicked at trial because I’m both good at what I do and my client deserves whatever it is I’m obtaining for them.

Ultimately, the more litigious you are, or the more litigious I am, and the more you’ve treated and used that future medical, that creates exposure and liability, which sometimes the insurance companies are willing to settle.

Contact Us If You Want to Discuss a Your Future Medical Buyout

Again, you never have to settle your future medical. But if you have a workers’ comp case with open future medical and you are interested in that potential buyout, please call our office so that we can formulate a strategy to see if we can get that case settled. Thank you. I look forward to taking care of you.