As of 2025, Medicare's lien collection is more automated, not less, so "settle now and sort it out later" is bad advice. In Wyoming, your employee does not simply pocket the check first and argue about bills later.

What should have happened first: if the burn happened on the job, the claim should have gone through the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Workers' Compensation Division right away. Wyoming uses a state-run workers' comp fund, so that is usually the first payer for covered work injuries, not the worker's private health insurance.

If a third party caused the injury - for example, a highway tire blowout on I-90 during summer travel or unsafe equipment at a Gillette-area recreational site - then there may also be a separate injury claim. That is where the "who gets paid first" fight starts.

The common myth is that hospitals or health insurance automatically take the whole settlement. Not true. The usual order is more like this: case costs and attorney fees, then valid Medicare, Wyoming Medicaid, or workers' comp reimbursement claims, and then any enforceable health insurance subrogation claim. A hospital in Gillette does not get magical first dibs just because it sent a big bill.

What to do now: get every payer identified in writing.

• Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division: ask what it paid and whether it will seek reimbursement from a third-party recovery
• Medicare: check for a conditional payment claim if your employee is a beneficiary
• Wyoming Medicaid through the Department of Health: confirm any recovery claim
• Private health plan: ask for the exact plan language on subrogation/reimbursement

Also get the itemized bills from Campbell County Memorial Hospital or any burn provider. Memory problems after a serious burn or crash can make these records incomplete unless someone chases them early.

What comes next: before any settlement money is divided, the lien amounts are usually negotiated. Some claims get reduced, some do not. The part nobody likes: if workers' comp paid the wage-loss or medical benefits, Wyoming may want reimbursement before your employee sees the full net. That can affect what the worker takes home, but it does not mean every bill collector gets an equal slice.