Your “Ask Us” responses

Your legal questions answered by the experts of Carter & Valle Law Firm. 

Question submitted 10/28/2010:
I recently had a baby and when I went to the HR office at work to add her to my health insurance they noticed that I was not being charged for my benefits at the correct rate. Two years ago when I got a higher paying position it should have been changed, but was not. I had no way of knowing this. Now they are saying I owe them $3000. Do I really need to pay for their mistake?

Answer from Rich Valle of Carter & Valle Law Firm:
What you owe will depend on your insurance contract. You may want to contact your employer to see why they did not deduct these payments, and why it took this long for this to be discovered. There are legal defenses to payment such as waiver or estoppel that may apply, but your question exceeds the scope of the Ask A Pro program. I might add that your employer's mistake may also be dependent upon your agreement with them.  Both documents would need review, but I note that on some occasions the remedy is worse if applied retroactively, for example by reducing the benefits to the pre-increase time frame.

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